The Bangladesh and the Indian government reviewed the progress of Indian Lines of Credit (LOC) funded projects during ‘First High Level Project Monitoring Committee Meeting’ held virtually.
During the meeting, it was decided that the projects under implementation will be monitored “effectively” and measures will be taken to ensure timely mobilization and to improve the payment cycle which has direct impact on progress of projects, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said on Tuesday.
The High Level Project Monitoring Committee is one of the several initiatives undertaken jointly by both the sides to expedite the progress of the projects and sort out the issues regarding the implementation of LOC funded projects and suggest a way forward.
The High Level Project Monitoring Committee was attended by the Secretary, Economic Relations Division of Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh, the High Commissioner of India in Dhaka, Bangladesh, officials of Prime Minister’s office, Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Security Services Division, National Board of Revenue [NBR], Government of Bangladesh, High Commission of India at Dhaka, and Exim Bank of India also attended the review meeting.
Read More: India gives 109 ambulances to Bangladesh as gift
It was noted that the India-Bangladesh development partnership has grown significantly in the recent years.
Bangladesh is the largest development partner under India’s Line of Credit programme.
GOI’s total commitment under Lines of Credit (LOCs) to the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) is $7,862 million including LOC of $500 million granted for procurement of defence equipment.
Out of 46 projects currently covered under the three GOILOCs, 14 projects are completed (USD 412.85 million), 8 projects are ongoing (USD 1,013.74 million), 15 projects are under tendering (USD 3,195.44 million) and 14 projects are under DPP (USD 3,081.34) preparation stages.
In value terms, appx. 83% of the projects are still at planning/DPP (appx. 41%) and tendering (appx. 42%) stages.
GOB’s project agencies have awarded contracts of value USD 1,276.39 million so far which are appx. 17% of total GOILOC portfolio.
Under such contracts, disbursements of value USD 719.78 million (56% of the contract value) have, so far, been made by Exim Bank of India.Out of the first LOC, USD 200mn has been converted into grant.
Bangladesh side requested for enhancement of local material content in the procurement process and revision of the LoC agreement.
It was noted and emphasised that through the review mechanism the procedural bottlenecks will be removed to ensure timely implementation of the projects under GOILOC.
It was discussed that follow-up mechanisms will be taken to expedite various projects which are at different stages, viz., at DPP preparation stage and tendering stage.
Special focus will be given to expedite completion of preparation of DPP for projects which have been identified to be executed out of GOILOC funds, so that steps can be taken for early floating of tenders.
Further, it has been agreed upon that steps will be taken to ease the tendering process, which will in turn speed-up the process of awarding of contracts to the winning bidders and early implementation of projects, the High Commission said in a statement.
Read More: Bangladesh-India relations and Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit
