$50m Belarus loan to buy heavy vehicles, parts for cities, municipalities

Bangladesh is likely to get different types of motor vehicles and equipment worth $ 50 million from Belarus under Export Commodity Credit (ECC) for different city corporations and municipalities.

According to official sources, the Development Bank of Belarus will provide the money as loan at a 1 percent interest rate with 11 years' repayment schedule having first three years' grace.

Belarus will provide the vehicles under a deal signed between Minsk and Dhaka during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to the Eastern Europe country in 2012.

The vehicles and equipment include 11 wheel loaders, 330 excavator equipment, 11 combination asphault rollers, 10 long grapples with kickouts, 11 long grapples 208-46, 11 hydraulic hammers, 329 twin drum vibratory rollers, 11 bulldozer blades, 330 drill machines, 11 backhoe loaders and 330 skid steer loaders.

Seeking an approval to import the vehicles and equipment without any tender, the Local Government Division (LGD) of the LGRD ministry recently sent a proposal to the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee.

"As per public procurement law and rules, such direct import under state-to-state deal needs prior approval of the Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee," a top official at the Cabinet Division told the news agency.

Once the cabinet body approves, the LGD will move for the final approval from Cabinet Purchase Committee to import the vehicles and equipment, he added.

About the proposal, Acting Secretary of Local Government Division Abdul Malek said there are 11 city corporations and 321 municipalities across the country. But there is no adequate vehicles and equipment to provide the necessary services for road construction and other purposes.

"Even some of the municipalities hardly have any vehicle, and they have to rent vehicles at a higher cost from private sector to run their services," he said.

"In some cases, it's becoming very tough to maintain the standard and quality of the works and services," he mentioned in the proposal sent to the Cabinet Division to justify the government's move for the import of the vehicles from Belarus under ECC.

It was said in the proposal that the government will have to give a down payment of 15 percent to import the vehicles and equipment for which the supplier company will provide two years' warranty.

After expiry of the warranty period, the supplier will also provide necessary spare parts at factory prices and also set up its service centre in Dhaka.