‘Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern’

[Black_cats]

‘Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern’​

Staff Correspondent
Dhaka
Published: 26 Nov 2022, 23: 55

Ahsan H Mansur

Loans from China are indisputably more costly than loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) or Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Loans from the World Bank, ADB and JICA include grants but China does not provide such facilities with loans.

Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), a non-government research organisation, said this when asked about the construction of a new elevated expressway with Chinese credit. The government is constructing the Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway at a cost of around Tk 175.53 billion. The construction work has started this month.

The project is being implemented under the G2G (Government to Government) initiative with China. Chinese government will pay Tk 109.50 billion out of the total cost of Tk 175 billion. The government has to pay 2.4 per cent interest on the principal loan as well as service and commitment charges.

Ahsan Mansur questioned whether the cost of the Dhaka-Ashulia highway will be limited to Tk 175 billion till the end, and said that the Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern. He meant that Chinese companies show lower costs while taking up contracts and but later the costs soar. They do so by colluding with government officials.

He said contractors from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) do not get contract work in Bangladesh as they do not pay bribes due to strict rules.

In the Dhaka-Ashulia Expressway project, the government will not have to repay the principal interest and principal for the first five years. However, the country will have to pay commitment fee. The entire amount will have to be repaid in instalments in the next 15 years from May, 2027. The World Bank, JICA and ADB loans usually have a grace period of 10 years.

Ahsan Mansur pointed out that projects implemented with Chinese credit have mixed experience. He said that a busy road has almost been stalled inordinately due to the BRT project. People have been suffering immensely. There has been no respite. Even in developed countries, big projects are taken up but they arrange alternative facilities for the people. Not only the contractors, but those who are in charge of managing the projects, are responsible for this failure.

Ahsan Mansur said that any new mega project should be well thought-out during the economic crisis, adding, “I do not approve of projects like Rooppur, Padma Bridge rail link or Cox’s Bazar rail project. However, the Dhaka-Ashulia expressway needs to be constructed.”

‘Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern’

Ahsan Mansur said the grace period and payment period of Chinese loan are short. Whereas, at times the period extends to maximum 30 to 40 years for loans from World Bank or other organisations

en.prothomalo.com

 

[LakeHawk180]

Hahahaha yeah, I can only imagine how much they are squeezing pakistan in that case.

 

[BananaRepublicUK]

‘Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern’​

Staff Correspondent
Dhaka
Published: 26 Nov 2022, 23: 55

Ahsan H Mansur

Loans from China are indisputably more costly than loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) or Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Loans from the World Bank, ADB and JICA include grants but China does not provide such facilities with loans.

Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), a non-government research organisation, said this when asked about the construction of a new elevated expressway with Chinese credit. The government is constructing the Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway at a cost of around Tk 175.53 billion. The construction work has started this month.

The project is being implemented under the G2G (Government to Government) initiative with China. Chinese government will pay Tk 109.50 billion out of the total cost of Tk 175 billion. The government has to pay 2.4 per cent interest on the principal loan as well as service and commitment charges.

Ahsan Mansur questioned whether the cost of the Dhaka-Ashulia highway will be limited to Tk 175 billion till the end, and said that the Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern. He meant that Chinese companies show lower costs while taking up contracts and but later the costs soar. They do so by colluding with government officials.

He said contractors from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) do not get contract work in Bangladesh as they do not pay bribes due to strict rules.

In the Dhaka-Ashulia Expressway project, the government will not have to repay the principal interest and principal for the first five years. However, the country will have to pay commitment fee. The entire amount will have to be repaid in instalments in the next 15 years from May, 2027. The World Bank, JICA and ADB loans usually have a grace period of 10 years.

Ahsan Mansur pointed out that projects implemented with Chinese credit have mixed experience. He said that a busy road has almost been stalled inordinately due to the BRT project. People have been suffering immensely. There has been no respite. Even in developed countries, big projects are taken up but they arrange alternative facilities for the people. Not only the contractors, but those who are in charge of managing the projects, are responsible for this failure.

Ahsan Mansur said that any new mega project should be well thought-out during the economic crisis, adding, “I do not approve of projects like Rooppur, Padma Bridge rail link or Cox’s Bazar rail project. However, the Dhaka-Ashulia expressway needs to be constructed.”

‘Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern’

Ahsan Mansur said the grace period and payment period of Chinese loan are short. Whereas, at times the period extends to maximum 30 to 40 years for loans from World Bank or other organisations

en.prothomalo.com

Another Dhakaya “expert”.

They can talk but cannot build anything

This idiot says OECD contractors don’t pay bribes

Does this idiot not know of criminal cases against the likes of BP, Shell, Exon, Glencore et al for bribes and exploitation in Africa and South America.

IMF and world bank have been exploiting Africa for decades. Giving loans to service interests to western banks.

By the end of 1990 - most African countries were spending more than 50% of their foreign currency earnings on servicing debt.

It was a scandal that was only partially mitigated when a new generation of African rulers threatened to ban western companies in favour of Chinese companies.

Gadaffi was at the forefront of this rebellion and that’s why he was taken out by U.K. and France.

West just takes out foreign leaders that do not serve their interests.

Obviously, it’s now Hasina’s turn!!!

 

[leonblack08]

‘Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern’​

Staff Correspondent
Dhaka
Published: 26 Nov 2022, 23: 55

Ahsan H Mansur

Loans from China are indisputably more costly than loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) or Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Loans from the World Bank, ADB and JICA include grants but China does not provide such facilities with loans.

Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), a non-government research organisation, said this when asked about the construction of a new elevated expressway with Chinese credit. The government is constructing the Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway at a cost of around Tk 175.53 billion. The construction work has started this month.

The project is being implemented under the G2G (Government to Government) initiative with China. Chinese government will pay Tk 109.50 billion out of the total cost of Tk 175 billion. The government has to pay 2.4 per cent interest on the principal loan as well as service and commitment charges.

Ahsan Mansur questioned whether the cost of the Dhaka-Ashulia highway will be limited to Tk 175 billion till the end, and said that the Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern. He meant that Chinese companies show lower costs while taking up contracts and but later the costs soar. They do so by colluding with government officials.

He said contractors from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) do not get contract work in Bangladesh as they do not pay bribes due to strict rules.

In the Dhaka-Ashulia Expressway project, the government will not have to repay the principal interest and principal for the first five years. However, the country will have to pay commitment fee. The entire amount will have to be repaid in instalments in the next 15 years from May, 2027. The World Bank, JICA and ADB loans usually have a grace period of 10 years.

Ahsan Mansur pointed out that projects implemented with Chinese credit have mixed experience. He said that a busy road has almost been stalled inordinately due to the BRT project. People have been suffering immensely. There has been no respite. Even in developed countries, big projects are taken up but they arrange alternative facilities for the people. Not only the contractors, but those who are in charge of managing the projects, are responsible for this failure.

Ahsan Mansur said that any new mega project should be well thought-out during the economic crisis, adding, “I do not approve of projects like Rooppur, Padma Bridge rail link or Cox’s Bazar rail project. However, the Dhaka-Ashulia expressway needs to be constructed.”

‘Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern’

Ahsan Mansur said the grace period and payment period of Chinese loan are short. Whereas, at times the period extends to maximum 30 to 40 years for loans from World Bank or other organisations

en.prothomalo.com

It is well known that this newspaper is an Indian mouthpiece in Bangladesh. Therefore very unreliable.

 

[BananaRepublicUK]

It is well known that this newspaper is an Indian mouthpiece in Bangladesh. Therefore very unreliable.

“Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern”

That’s not English!

It smells of Hinglish

No English person would write those words together

 

[Abu Shaleh Rumi]

Authors points are valid.

Projects with Chinese loans are costly compared to our other sources. Chinese are willing to give bribes to our corrupt government, other lenders aren't or not as much as the Chinese. Ultimately it is our own fault, we can't blame anyone else.
.
Ruppur NPP, Padma bridge+ rail link and other infrastructure projects are much needed for us. Every sensible person will recognize this. But, we should not be blind, we should speak against our governments massive corruption and mismanagements. Expensive loans from China and Russia will hunt us in this bad economic situation.
.
BTW, in my POV we should seek more sensible and long term loans to build more nuke reactors. As we aren't oil rich, we must go after Nuke power and renewable energy for our energy security.

 

[BananaRepublicUK]

Authors points are valid.

Projects with Chinese loans are costly compared to our other sources. Chinese are willing to give bribes to our corrupt government, other lenders aren't or not as much as the Chinese. Ultimately it is our own fault, we can't blame anyone else.
.
Ruppur NPP, Padma bridge+ rail link and other infrastructure projects are much needed for us. Every sensible person will recognize this. But, we should not be blind, we should speak against our governments massive corruption and mismanagements. Expensive loans from China and Russia will hunt us in this bad economic situation.
.
BTW, in my POV we should seek more sensible and long term loans to build more nuke reactors. As we aren't oil rich, we must go after Nuke power and renewable energy for our energy security.

Yes!

Lots of countries and lenders are queuing up to lend money to BD.

Not to mention also able to build the infra we need

The delusion is cancerous

You lot don’t like India, don’t like China

Whose your daddy who’ll build the expensive infra we need???

@UKBengali
@EasyNow

 

[bluesky]

Ahsan Mansur questioned whether the cost of the Dhaka-Ashulia highway will be limited to Tk 175 billion till the end, and said that the Chinese contractors enter innocuously but then turn stern. He meant that Chinese companies show lower costs while taking up contracts and but later the costs soar. They do so by colluding with government officials.

Chinese companies do not really raise the costs. It is our gold-plated Kalamanikchand (কালামানিকচাঁদ) Bengali govt officials who force them to raise the costs and they get under-the-table big money.

But, surely BD officials deserve bribes because they waste their precious daytime from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm in the offices. Certainly, they deserve extra big money.

No wonder, FDI guys visit BD but do not invest in the corrupt country.

Why blame the Chinese when your own hand slaps your own face? After all, Bangladesh people are historically known as super-patriotic people!!

 

[NAVDEEP DHALIWAL]

Never seen or met Contractor who doesn't know how to make money while crying low margins are killing him. And he is stuck to complete this project with No or very low p4ofit. Haha

 

[khansaheeb]

Hahahaha yeah, I can only imagine how much they are squeezing pakistan in that case.

Pakistan got great deals from China, other financial bodies wouldn't even lend money to Pakistan. Also we got complete packages :finance and completed on time projects. With Westerners they would take years to complete feasibility studies and charge huge extortionate amounts and mess it up with leverages of one form or another.

 

[StraightEdge]

out of the total cost of Tk 175 billion

why should a expressway project cost that much?

 

[Abu Shaleh Rumi]

why should a expressway project cost that much?

Massive corruption plus our high land procurement cost...

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Ahsan Mansur said that any new mega project should be well thought-out during the economic crisis, adding, “I do not approve of projects like Rooppur, Padma Bridge rail link or Cox’s Bazar rail project. However, the Dhaka-Ashulia expressway needs to be constructed.”

I can understand some people will have reservation about Rooppur Nuclear power plant. But anyone who oppose Padma Bridge rail link and Cox's Bazar rail project is an anti-national raskel. Any decent size country would have built these two rail projects decades earlier, Bangladesh is shamefully very late. Chattogram-Cox's Bazar rail line was first planned in 1890 by British govt and since then multiple times but without fruition. More than 130 years passed before it is finally coming. Which stupid would oppose rail connection with a city which is suppose to be tourism capital and host deep sea port, energy terminal, powerplant hub and and so many other vital infrastructure? This Ahsan Mansur guy have lost all his credibility.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

The government is constructing the Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway at a cost of around Tk 175.53 billion.

A six lane elevated highway costs around Rs. 100 crores per km. Plus land acquisition costs. I understand the Dwarka Expressway (Delhi Gurgaon area) which is under construction in India would have a total cost of Rs. 9000 crores for a 30 km stretch which works out to around Rs. 300 crores/km. Not sure of Dhaka Ashulia distance or land costs involved. As an additional data point, the Bogibeel Bridge on Brahmaputra has a length of 5 km and cost around Rs 6000 crores. It has a double gauge railway and a three lane road on it.

Perhaps some of our learned Maulanas here can shed some light @UKBengali @Nergal @bluesky @BananaRepublicUK

Regards

 

[bluesky]

I can understand some people will have reservation about Rooppur Nuclear power plant. But anyone who oppose Padma Bridge rail link and Cox's Bazar rail project is an anti-national raskel.

Before your small brain calls others enemies of the country, I ask you to read the first paragraph of a book on the National Economic Development and tell me where it is written that foreign loans should be used to do this kind of project.

Tell me which country in this world ever economically developed by borrowing money and employing foreign contractors when its own population is around 180 million?

Whichever country tried to do so, failed. Examples are Latin American countries, and now Pakistan, SL, and BD. Every project must be built with a country's own resources, engineers and technologies, and materials.

Do not spit in the sky. It comes right down to your BAL face.