Chinese Government provides RMB 60 million grant for 6th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#39022 and #41981)

Project narrative

In 2002, the Chinese Government provided an RMB 50 million grant (Record ID#41981), an RMB 60 million grant (Record ID#33941), and an RMB 50 million interest-free loan (Record ID#39022) for the 6th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge Project. These grant and interest-free loan commitments were codified in Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreements (ETCA) that were signed on January 11, 2002, and December 24, 2002. The Muktarpur bridge is located over the Dhaleshwari (Dhaleshwari) River, a tributary of the Meghna River, and on Dhaka-Munshigonj road. It is 37 kilometers southeast of Dhaka. The construction of the bridge sought to establish a fixed transport link between Dhaka city and Munshigonj, which is one of the major supply areas of agricultural products to the capital city. The district of Munshigonj, separated by the Dhleshwari river is situated 30 km south of Dhaka. It consists of 6 upazilas, 67 union parishads, 662 mousaz, 906 villages, 18 wards, 73 mahallas and 2 municipalities. The precise locational coordinates of the Muktarpur bridge can be found at https://www.google.com/maps/place/Muktarpur+Bridge,+Bangladesh/@23.5696501,90.5103998,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3755ae1dcd95674d:0x96d85ebcaadf43f0!8m2!3d23.5696452!4d90.5125885 and https://www.google.com/maps/place/Muktarpur+Bridge/@23.5716112,90.5135207,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xfd1bce5e1ee0e66a!8m2!3d23.5716112!4d90.5135207. The Jamuna Multi-Purpose Bridge Authority (JMBA) signed a project implementation contract with China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on December 27, 2004. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on January 27, 2005. Construction began on April 28, 2005. The 1521 meters long and 10 meters wide bridge was officially opened to traffic on February 18, 2008. Several sources indicate that RMB 141 million of grant funding was ultimately disbursed for the construction of this bridge.