The World Bank (WB) has formally decided to revive its $1.2 billion loan deal for Padma bridge project.
“The
World Bank has agreed that, upon satisfactory implementation of the
agreed measures by the government, and with the support of the WB's
governing bodies, it will engage anew in the Padma bridge project,” a statement of the WB released on early Friday said.
Though
the WB agreed to revive the loan, the statement said, “The World Bank
remains vigilant to any signs of corruption in the Padma bridge project,
and our determination to take a strong line against wrongdoing will
never waver. If implemented properly, the bridge has the potential to
deliver remarkable benefits to the people of Bangladesh, who deserve
transparent use of public money, clean implementation of the project and
a high-quality bridge to spur growth and development for years to
come.”
The WB cancelled its $1.2 billion credit for the
Padma bridge project on June 29, saying it had proof of a corruption
conspiracy involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of a Canadian
firm and some private individuals, whose identities have remained a
mystery.
After the exposure of the corruption, the
statement said, “The WB's investigative unit previously shared with the
government of Bangladesh credible evidence of corruption related to our
financing of the bridge, and the WB had identified a series of clear
measures to be implemented by the government for the WB to remain
engaged with the project, which the government of Bangladesh had failed
to meet.”
For it to revive the deal, the global lender set
some conditions. These included: (i) placing all public officials
suspected of involvement in the corruption scheme on leave from
government employment until the investigation is completed, (ii)
appointing a special inquiry and prosecution team within the Bangladeshi
Anti-Corruption Commission to handle the investigation, (iii) agreeing
to provide full access to all investigative information to an external
panel of internationally recognised experts so that they can give
guidance to the WB and co-financiers on the progress, adequacy, and
fairness of the investigation, and (iv) agreeing on new implementation
arrangements that gives the WB and co-financiers greater oversight of
project procurement processes.
The key financier of the
project also said following the cancellation of the credit, the
Bangladesh government took actions necessary to fulfill the above
measures.
The government has also begun to address the evidence of corruption the WB identified, the statement added.
The
World Bank understands that all government employees and officials
alleged to have been involved in corrupt acts in connection with the
project have been put on leave from government service until an
investigation is completed, and that a full and fair investigation is
now underway.
The global lender also showed it reason
behind the revival of the loan deal saying “In its communication with
the World Bank about the fulfillment of these measures, the government
of Bangladesh requested the WB to consider again the financing of the
Padma bridge.”
It also said, “The government agreed to a
series of measures as a pre-requisite for any renewed implementation.
These include new procurement arrangements with enhanced oversight, to
ensure transparency and clean construction of the bridge; investigations
proceeding in a full, fair, and expeditious manner; and an independent
External Panel to review the investigation and report their findings to
the government and the World Bank.”
