Jica president arrives in Bangladesh on five-day visit

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) President Tanaka Akihiko arrived in Bangladesh today (1 July) on a five-day visit, during which discussions are expected to focus on Japanese-funded development projects, including stalled metro rail schemes, and Dhaka's proposal to reduce interest rates on Jica loans.

On the first day of the visit, the Jica president is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Tarique Rahman this afternoon, sources at the Jica Bangladesh Office and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said.

During the visit, Tanaka is also expected to hold high-level meetings with Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and other senior government officials.

He is also expected to visit several Japanese-funded development projects, including the Matarbari deep-sea port project.

ERD sources said the meetings may discuss ways to resolve the deadlock over several projects, including MRT Line-1, covering the Airport-Kamalapur route, and MRT Line-5 Northern, covering the Hemayetpur-Gulshan-Bhatara route.

The projects have reportedly remained stalled for around one and a half years following allegations of unusually high cost proposals in tenders.

In bilateral discussions, the government is also expected to request Japan to reduce the interest rate on Jica loans. Since April, the interest rate on Jica loans has reportedly risen to 3.05%, up from the previous 2.35%.

Japan is Bangladesh's largest bilateral development partner. Since Bangladesh's independence, Japan has continued to support the country's socio-economic development.

Japan's cumulative official development assistance commitments to Bangladesh now stand at $34.21 billion, covering sectors including infrastructure, power and energy, agriculture, education, health, water supply, rural development, environment and human resource development through loans and grants.