Govt to write to WB on Padma bridge
Says Muhith
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said that the government is considering writing to the World Bank chief to settle the issue of Padma bridge project financing.
“I am not sure whether I will write to the World Bank chief but we are considering it,” Muhith told reporters at his Secretariat office in the morning.
The minister's remark on the latest development of the Padma bridge project came when Xiaoyu Zhao, the vice president (operations 1) of Asian Development Bank, met with Muhith at his office yesterday.
ADB urged the government to settle the issue quickly with the WB.
“Before writing the letter we will have to work on our strategy and use the best option available,” Muhith said.
Highly placed sources in the finance ministry told The Daily Star that Muhith already drafted the letter to be sent to WB President Robert Zoellick.
The draft conveys the government's hopes that the WB chief will settle the Padma bridge financing issue before he steps down in June.
It states that the Padma bridge is one of the main pledges of the present government. Therefore, it would like to start the project work soon.
Government high-ups have been discussing the content of the letter and whether it will be right to send such a letter.
The dispatch of the letter depends on the prime minister's consent, ministry officials said.
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