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'Less important projects could lead to disaster like Sri Lanka'
Deutsche Welle
Published: 21 May 2022, 00:04
www.ittefaq.com.bd
Economist Moinul Islam advised the government to refrain from taking less necessary projects in the current situation On the other hand, the economist said. Nazneen Ahmed thinks that there is no situation to panic about the country's economy
Deutsche Welle's Khaled Muhiuddin wants to know if two economists had a question on a YouTube talk show about a mega project in Bangladesh. Moinul Islam, a former professor at Chittagong University, thinks the Padma Bridge will make a significant contribution to Bangladesh's economy But with this bridge, the Rs 40,000 crore rail link project from Jessore to Pigeon Port will be burdened with a debt of Rs 21,000 crore from China.
He said that with the introduction of road traffic across the Padma Bridge, the comparative cost of transporting goods to Pigeon, Jessore and Mongla would never be competitive with road connectivity.
He is also concerned about the rail project from Chittagong to Cox's Bazar, which is part of the BCMI Economic Corridor, which is supposed to run through Myanmar to Kunming, China.
According to him, the project will not be used properly for several years due to India's withdrawal Due to which it will be difficult to raise the cost of the loan taken from the Asian Development Bank On the other hand, the Rooppur nuclear power project, which has a total cost of Tk 130,000 crore with $12 billion Russian loan, will also be a big burden for Bangladesh, he said.
The economist said that there is a tendency to take less needed projects where I hear about Dhaka-Chittagong bullet train, I hear about Bangabandhu II satellite, I hear about Bangabandhu International Airport at Shariatpur, I hear about Noakhali Airport and I hear about relocation of Dhaka to other places outside Dhaka.
There is no need to take the project to the current stage In this way, if there is a tendency to take on a much needed project, our Hon'ble Prime Minister may face a catastrophe in Bangladesh like Sri Lanka in a few years.
However, the UNDP's country economist disagreed with him. Nazneen Ahmed. According to him, mega projects alone are not responsible for the situation in Sri Lanka There are many more reasons behind this situation in the country In this case, the plans that Bangladesh has taken and if the country's productivity increases, then the country's economy will not be a problem
However, he emphasized that the cost-benefit analysis of any project needs to be properly analyzed in the future. At the moment it needs to be re-evaluated after covid The two economists later discussed Bangladesh's economic recovery process and the impact of the Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, Professor Moinul Islam expressed concern over the trade deficit created by the increase in imports. He said that if the foreign exchange reserves continued to decline in the last eight months, it would not take long for them to reach dangerous levels.
However, Dr. Nazneen Ahmed said import costs had been rising since before the Russia-Ukraine war Increased imports of raw materials have also played a role in the economic recovery process following the collapse of the Covid. According to him, at the current stage of the economy of Bangladesh as a whole, the situation has not yet been created to panic
"It simply came to our notice then That situation has not come yet. There is nothing to think about at the moment about leaving the reserve. We should have a little bit of confidence in the resilience of the economy in Bangladesh.
'Less important projects could lead to disaster like Sri Lanka'
Deutsche Welle
Published: 21 May 2022, 00:04
‘অল্প প্রয়োজনীয় প্রকল্পে শ্রীলঙ্কার মতো বিপর্যয় হতে পারে’
বর্তমান পরিস্থিতিতে স্বল্প প্রয়োজনীয় প্রকল্প নেয়া থেকে সরকারকে বিরত থাকার পরামর্শ দিলেন অর্থনীতিবিদ মইনুল ইসলাম৷ অন্যদিকে অর্থনীতিবিদ ড. নাজনীন আহমেদ মনে...
Economist Moinul Islam advised the government to refrain from taking less necessary projects in the current situation On the other hand, the economist said. Nazneen Ahmed thinks that there is no situation to panic about the country's economy
Deutsche Welle's Khaled Muhiuddin wants to know if two economists had a question on a YouTube talk show about a mega project in Bangladesh. Moinul Islam, a former professor at Chittagong University, thinks the Padma Bridge will make a significant contribution to Bangladesh's economy But with this bridge, the Rs 40,000 crore rail link project from Jessore to Pigeon Port will be burdened with a debt of Rs 21,000 crore from China.
He said that with the introduction of road traffic across the Padma Bridge, the comparative cost of transporting goods to Pigeon, Jessore and Mongla would never be competitive with road connectivity.
He is also concerned about the rail project from Chittagong to Cox's Bazar, which is part of the BCMI Economic Corridor, which is supposed to run through Myanmar to Kunming, China.
According to him, the project will not be used properly for several years due to India's withdrawal Due to which it will be difficult to raise the cost of the loan taken from the Asian Development Bank On the other hand, the Rooppur nuclear power project, which has a total cost of Tk 130,000 crore with $12 billion Russian loan, will also be a big burden for Bangladesh, he said.
The economist said that there is a tendency to take less needed projects where I hear about Dhaka-Chittagong bullet train, I hear about Bangabandhu II satellite, I hear about Bangabandhu International Airport at Shariatpur, I hear about Noakhali Airport and I hear about relocation of Dhaka to other places outside Dhaka.
There is no need to take the project to the current stage In this way, if there is a tendency to take on a much needed project, our Hon'ble Prime Minister may face a catastrophe in Bangladesh like Sri Lanka in a few years.
However, the UNDP's country economist disagreed with him. Nazneen Ahmed. According to him, mega projects alone are not responsible for the situation in Sri Lanka There are many more reasons behind this situation in the country In this case, the plans that Bangladesh has taken and if the country's productivity increases, then the country's economy will not be a problem
However, he emphasized that the cost-benefit analysis of any project needs to be properly analyzed in the future. At the moment it needs to be re-evaluated after covid The two economists later discussed Bangladesh's economic recovery process and the impact of the Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, Professor Moinul Islam expressed concern over the trade deficit created by the increase in imports. He said that if the foreign exchange reserves continued to decline in the last eight months, it would not take long for them to reach dangerous levels.
However, Dr. Nazneen Ahmed said import costs had been rising since before the Russia-Ukraine war Increased imports of raw materials have also played a role in the economic recovery process following the collapse of the Covid. According to him, at the current stage of the economy of Bangladesh as a whole, the situation has not yet been created to panic
"It simply came to our notice then That situation has not come yet. There is nothing to think about at the moment about leaving the reserve. We should have a little bit of confidence in the resilience of the economy in Bangladesh.
