Chinese Government provides RMB 710 million grant for Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center Construction Project

Project narrative

On April 24, 2008, the Chinese Government and the Government of Bangladesh signed an MoU on the construction of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center in Dhaka. The Chinese Government pledged to provide 2.1 billion BDT of the estimated 2.75 billion BDT needed for the project. The Chinese Government initially provided an RMB 60 million grant commitment. However, according to the Government of Bangladesh's Economic Affairs Division (EAD), the Chinese Government ultimately committed RMB 710 million for this project. The Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center is located in Purbachal, a 6,150-acre town in the northeastern suburbs of Dhaka. The center will be linked with eight-lane expressways from Dhaka's principal Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport road. The precise locational coordinates of the center are available at: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bangladesh+China+Friendship+Exibition+Center/@23.8426008,90.5324999,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3755cb986eafe535:0x6cd23860a3378f49!8m2!3d23.8425959!4d90.5346886. The center will have about 800 booths of 9 square meters each in two big hall rooms. There will also be a conference room, press center, meeting room, and business information center, as well as parking space for 1,500 cars. The general contractor for the project is China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) and Shenyang Engineering Supervision & Consultation Corporation (SESCC) are responsible for the supervision of the project and overseeing the construction schedule and quality. On April 17, 2017, the Bangladeshi authorities officially handed over a land permit to allow construction of the center to proceed. Then, on July 10, 2018, the Government of Bangladesh’s Economic Commission Executive Committee (ECNEC) officially approved a modification to the project. The total cost of the project reportedly increased from 2.75 billion BDT to 7.96 billion BDT, and then again to 10.03 billion BDT. The originally expected completion date of the project was November 30, 2019. However, the project has been plagued by delays and controversy and it was still not complete as of mid-2020. Its planned end date was eventually pushed back to December 2020. Bangladeshi environmentalists and human rights advocates filed a set of complaints related to the project, alleging that the city Capital City Development Authority (RAJUK) violated a host of environmental regulations and laws by adding the exhibit hall as part of a set of changes to the township’s overall design. The High Court and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, in separate orders, declared the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center illegal. In March 2014, the Supreme Court issued a decision instructing RAJUK ‘not to efface, subtract, vary, modify or otherwise change the core forest, forest, lakes or canals, urban green, parks, playgrounds, play lots, green belt and other environmental-oriented spaces of the project without any permission of the court.’ However, RAJUK and CSCEC continued the construction of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center (BBCFEC) in potential violation of the law. The BBCFEC was ultimately completed an opened for use on October 21, 2021. At its inauguration ceremony, BBCFEC Project Director Mohammad Rezaul Karim announced the that the exhibition center would be the permanent venue for different product-based fairs throughout the year. He noted that the exhibition center has 33,000 square meters of floor space, housing two exhibition halls covering 15,418 square meters each, which have the facilities to feature more than 800 stalls. The BBCFEC also has its own water treatment plant, CCTV control room, WiFi system for internet, a modern fountain, car parking, fire extinguishing system, and a remote-controlled entrance gate. He also noted that the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) was planning to organize the 26th edition of Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) at the BBCFEC.