07/04/2023 08:26:06

7 years of Belt and Road Initiative: China makes its presence felt everywhere

China has made a strong presence in Bangladesh’s road transport infrastructures, building a total length of 550 kilometres which include the country’s largest road-rail Padma Bridge and first-ever underwater roadway Bangladesh Karnaphuli River Tunnel Project.

From road-rail to seaport and airport, under-river tunnel to elevated expressway, water utility to e-governance, coal to solar – China makes its presence felt everywhere. Apart from being a major importing partner, the Asian economic powerhouse has expanded its foothold in much-needed infrastructures in Bangladesh with cash, technology and expertise.

 

Though this bilateral partnership has been in place for decades, China now takes stock of how much it has deepened in the last seven years since Bangladesh joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Bangladesh is linked with one of the six economic corridors planned in the Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious infrastructure plan, also coined New Silk Road, that looks to connect East Asia to Europe by road and sea.

Most BRI projects in Bangladesh are in the energy and transport sectors, whose need for infrastructural investment would be 1.5% of GDP in 2040. To drive economic growth to achieve Vision 2041, Bangladesh needs to fill in the infrastructure gaps where China's BRI steps in a bigger way.

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