US$ 60 million financing agreements Between IDB and Bangladesh
12th February 2005, Jeddah
Two Agreements for US$ 60 million financing facility for the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) were signed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between the Government of Bangladesh and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The Minister of Finance and Planning of Bangladesh, Mr. M. Saifur Rahman and the IDB President, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, were present during the signing ceremony. The Chairman of BTTB, Mr. Md. Nur ul Islam signed the agreements on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh while the Vice President (Operations), Dr. Amadou Boubacar Cisse signed from the IDB side.
The US$ 60 million financing, to be provided under a purchase-leaseback arrangement, will be used to finance Bangladesh's share of financing of the SEA-ME-WE (South East Asia Middle East West Europe) Submarine Telecommunication Cable. This project will enable Bangladesh to significantly enhance the quality and number of circuits for international communications, and will enable the country to enter the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) era, which by its nature requires very modern and fast communication channels.
The IDB financing will be used for the installation of approximately 1,260 Km undersea submarine fiber optic cable between Coxs Bazar and a point in the backbone SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable in the under-sea of Bay of Bengal/ Indian Ocean. In addition, the installation of fiber optic link along the road between Coxs Bazar landing station and Chittagong, including all equipment for extending the submarine cable to the national network will also be covered. The contract of the submarine cable which is part of the SMW- project has already been awarded to two companies (Alcatel from France and Fujitsu from Japan).
The IDB financing of US$ 60 million will be for a period of 10 years (including 1-year grace period).
Before the signing ceremony Mr. M. Saifur Rahman called on the President of Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, and held detailed discussion to enhance the ceiling of import trade finance operation, export finance scheme and other related issues. Discussions were also held to significantly increase the future financial assistance of the Bank to Bangladesh.