Brinkmanship over the Padma Bridge

In Bangladesh, an avoidable controversy has been going on over the construction of the Padma Bridge. Termed as the largest infrastructural project in the history of Bangladesh, this bridge is to be constructed with the help of loans from four donors – World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The project has got mired in controversy after the World Bank accused some top people in Bangladesh of being involved in corruption. If this bridge is not constructed or its construction is delayed it will have both economic as well as political repercussions for the country.

When built, the Padma bridge will be 6.15 km long and cost US $2.9 billion. The World Bank is supposed to provide $1.2 billion, ADB $615 million, JICA $400 million and IDB $140 million. However, after the World Bank raised the issue of corruption and decided to withdraw from the project last June, the other donors also could not go forward.

The World Bank has accused former Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain, Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan along with the Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Advisor Dr. Moshiur Rahman, who was the Integrity Advisor of the project, of corruption. Subsequent to this charge, Gowher Rizwi, the political advisor of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been negotiating with the World Bank, which, in the month of September, once again stated its intention to finance the bridge. As part of the understanding with the global lending agency, Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain resigned and Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan was sent on leave. Moshiur Rahman was also removed from the project. But the World Bank has now also laid down some conditions. It wants to oversee how the government conducts the enquiry against people accused of corruption. It also wants to oversee the procurement process along with other donors.

In donor funded projects in Bangladesh, generally the procurement process is done by the government. This leaves some scope for corruption as companies which are close to power or manage to bribe officials get the contract. What is worse, sometimes these companies may not have the requisite expertise. Interestingly, this time the allegation of corruption was labelled against a Canadian company which was trying to bribe officials.

Corruption is not unusual in Bangladesh. This country, some years back during the rule of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led alliance, had earned the dubious distinction of being the most corrupt nation in the world, three times in a row. This rating was done by Transparency International.

But things have definitely improved in Bangladesh since then. The economy is growing at the rate of 6 per cent a year, one of the fastest in Asia. The country has not only fought a commendable battle against extremism and terrorism, but the quality of governance also seems to have improved, though a lot still needs to be done.

The World Bank is an important donor. The credit provided by the institution helps in the execution of several projects in developing countries. It is true that the World Bank has to be concerned about the proper and corruption-free implementation of projects. But on occasion the decisions also have to be strategic. It should not suddenly expect miracles in countries like Bangladesh. While the tightening of the screw on the implementation process by the World Bank may be in order, cancelling the project (in June) was an over-reaction.

The World Bank’s decision to withhold funding for the Padma Bridge has embarrassed a government that has been doing reasonable work especially in checking extremism at a time when radicalism is sweeping many parts of the world. More importantly, it was an election promise of the Hasina government to build a bridge over the Padma River, which is expected to add two per cent to the GDP of the country and connect the southwestern part of Bangladesh with other areas.

The government of Bangladesh strongly believes that its political opponents including Nobel Laureate Mohammed Yunus who is seen as ‘Banker to the poor’ are behind the World Bank’s decision. The World Bank’s decision has surprised even organisations such as the Transparency International.

The main opposition in Bangladesh, which is in alliance with the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, is bound to exploit the exasperation of the government. And if the construction of the bridge fails to start before the next election which is due towards the end of next year, it will have a negative impact on the political fortunes of the Awami League. Although a bridge on the Padma River may not enable the Awami League to return to power, not starting the construction will definitely hamper its chances. This will also strengthen the hand of the Islamists who often promise clean but radical governments. More importantly, the poor people of Bangladesh will suffer because of the allegation of corruption against a handful of people.