Bangladesh and South Korea on Wednesday shared nine projects proposals under the public private partnership during the 4th Bangladesh-Korea joint PPP platform meeting held in Seoul. 

The Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) of Bangladesh and Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) under Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), Government of the Republic of Korea organized the meeting. 

Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, attended the meeting virtually from the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka while a 5-meber Bangladesh delegation led by Sultana Afroz, Secretary & CEO of PPP Authority, travelled to Seoul to participate in the meeting.

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The other delegation members were A.B.M Aminullah Noori, Rajuk Chairman (Secretary), Eng. Md. Kausar Ameer Ali, Managing Director, Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd. (DESCO), Md. Nazmul Abedin, Joint Secretary from Power Division and Md. Abul Bashar, Director General from PPPA and other government officials. 

The delegation members also met ministers, senior officials of Korean government and CEOs of private investors. 

Bangladesh Ambassador to Korea Delawar Hossain also joined. 

There were also Korean senior government officials, private investors and representatives from KIND and MOLIT. 

The representative from Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd. (DESCO) made a presentation on ‘Purbachal New Town Electrical Distribution Line’. 

KIND has declared this project as a PPP project with Power Division with the support of PPPA.

The power transmission line project is a PPP project worth about $700 million which KIND and Korean company (GS E&C) independently will carry out and plan to immediately enter into a feasibility study to expedite project development.

Projects presented by Korea are BSMSN Development- Water Demand and Solution; Metropolitan Chattogram Metro Line- Private investor; Dong Myeong, Solar PPP Project- DOWHA Engineering and 71 Gulshan Avenue and the Development of Banani Community Center.

Projects presented by Bangladesh side are construction of high- rise apartment for high, middle and low income group at Purbachal Development Area; multi-purpose water  erminal; muti-purpose terminal with yard and equipment in Mongla Port and Development of Terminal Court Payra Port.

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Kaikaus said that Korea has already been investing in Bangladesh and now the government is encouraging the Korean investors to invest in large infrastructures. 

He gave a number of positive attributes that are attractive to foreign investors and PPP projects in Bangladesh. 

Public Private Partnership Authority is mandated to help the private investors and the Bangladesh government officials are also ready to support them. 

Eung Kim, Director of KIND and President and CEO of KIND, Kang Hoon Lee were also present. 

Lee was confident that the Korea and Bangladesh will be a sticking stone for cooperation and create more infrastructure, development and opportunities. 

Seong Won Yun, Vice Minister of MOLIT, opined that the establishment of MoU between PPP Authority and KIND has fortified the long-standing and reliable partnership between Bangladesh and Korea. 

As a result, four infrastructure PPP projects on road, bridge, railway and transmission lines have so far been selected through joint PPP platform for further cooperation between Korea and Bangladesh. 

The PPP project of the ‘Construction of Bridge on Bhulta-Araihazar-Bancharampur Road (R-203) over the River Meghna (Meghna Bridge Project)’ is at its final stage, according to PPPA. 

Sultana Afroz expressed her appreciation to Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) for hosting the meeting. 

She briefly described the various incentives given to the foreign investors and spoke about the favourable technical, legal, social, environment and commercial climate prevailing in the country for promoting foreign investment in public private partnership modality. 

Both Korean and the Bangladeshi sides have expressed their commitment to work together for their nations and implement PPP projects through Government to Government (G2G) framework.