In the conference room of the Dhaka Ministry of Transport, officials from the Bangladesh Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Road Transport are checking the list of projects to be negotiated in China one by one - the feasibility drawings of the second Padma Bridge are displayed at the top, next to the previously shelved double track railway renovation plan. This South Asian country is preparing to submit financing requests to China for nearly 20 major transportation infrastructure projects.

Padma Second Bridge listed as a priority

The transportation infrastructure planned by Mengfang includes 9 bridges and 5 railway projects, with a total investment of trillions of taka. The second Padma Bridge will connect Manikganj and Rajbari, and the feasibility study has been completed; The first Padma Bridge and railway connecting line are both constructed by Chinese enterprises and will be opened to traffic in 2022 and 2024 respectively, laying a foundation of mutual trust for the new bridge cooperation.

Suspend the double track railway and plan to restart it

The financing negotiations for the 239 kilometer meter gauge to double track conversion project from Akawula to Sylhet, as well as the double track conversion project from Joydpur to Mymensingh to Jamalbur, have been restarted. At the same time, an application has been made to purchase 200 meter gauge passenger cars and 20 meter gauge locomotives, and a vehicle maintenance base will be built in Rajbari to fill the gap in railway transportation capacity. Keywords: the Belt and Road news and information, dual gauge railway

The subway network seeks support from the Chinese side

To alleviate congestion in the capital, Bangladesh has completed a feasibility study on the 238 kilometer 11 line network of the Dhaka Metro, with an initial investment of approximately 2.77 billion US dollars for the four lines, hoping to be included in the scope of Chinese financing support. If this round of cooperation is implemented, it will continue the infrastructure partnership between China and Bangladesh based on more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, and further strengthen regional connectivity.Editor/Gao Xue