Bangladesh signs $336m China loan for Mongla Port expansion
Financing will fund two container terminals and cargo yards.
Bangladesh has secured a $335.78 million concessional loan from China's Export-Import Bank to expand and modernise Mongla Port, including the construction of two container terminals and dedicated yards for cargo handling.
The loan agreement, worth RMB2.404 billion (Tk3,592.8975 crore or $335.78 million), was signed on 10 October, according to a press release from the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance.
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Alia Meher, joint secretary at the ERD, and Fengjun Tian, assistant general manager of China Exim Bank, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.
Under the project, the Mongla Port Authority, under the shipping ministry, will build two container terminals equipped with modern machinery. The project will also include a container yard, a container delivery yard, and a cargo-handling yard.
China Exim Bank will provide the loan at a concessional interest rate of 2%, with a repayment period of 20 years, including a five-year grace period, the release said.
The project is expected to modernise port facilities and increase cargo-handling capacity at Mongla Port, Bangladesh's second-largest seaport.
