China Eximbank provides $211 million loan for 3G Technology and Expansion of 2.5G Network Project

In September 2006, the Chinese Government pledged to provide a $211 million concessional loan to the Bangladeshi state-run mobile operator Teletalk but the deal expired without any loan agreement finalized by August 2008. However, in 2009, China pledged to renew the deal and the proceeds of the loan were to be used to upgrade Bangladesh's telephone networks to 3G, via Teletalk. TeleTalk, Bangladesh, Ltd. was selected to implement the project under the supervision of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, and it was expected that the project would increase TeleTalk's capacity to provide service to 4.73 million new 3G subscribers and 4.77 million new 2.5G GSM mobile subscribers. The originally planned completion date of the project was July 2010. However, the pipeline project encountered various delays. On December 27, 2010, Teletalk and CMEC signed a contract for the Bangladesh 2.5G Network Expansion and 3G New Construction Project with a total contract value of $216 million. Then, on June 9, 2011, China Eximbank and the Government of Bangladesh signed a $211 million loan agreement for the 3G Technology and Expansion of 2.5G Network Project. The loan carried the following terms: 2% interest rate, 19-year maturity, 4 year grace period, and 0.2% commitment fee. The Government of Bangladesh's loan identification number for the China Eximbank GCL is B1120110609a. Teletalk’s CMEC contract became effective June 9, 2011, and construction officially commenced on January 6, 2012. Then, on October 15, 2012, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 3G network. As of 2015, this project was completed and Teletalk reportedly saw significant increases in revenues and subscribers.

Additional details

This project is also known as the 'Modernization and Expansion of Teletalk's 2G/3G Network of to Rural Areas (MEP).

Number of official sources

11

Number of unofficial sources

15