Dhaka Metro Costs Under Fire: Tarique to Press Japan for Cheaper Loans During Tokyo Trip

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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will push for lower interest rates and reduced costs on the ballooning Dhaka MRT Line-1 project during his upcoming visit to Japan, officials confirmed Monday.

Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam told a press conference that bringing down the interest burden on the Japan-funded underground metro rail will be high on the agenda. The outcome, he cautioned, will only become clear after the talks.

Tarique is scheduled to travel to Japan from October 25 to 28 at the invitation of the Japanese prime minister. It will be his fourth foreign trip since taking office in February.

The prime minister’s high-level delegation includes Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Finance Advisor Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir, State Minister for Power Aninda Islam Amit, and other senior officials.

At a September 16 meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the cost of MRT Line-1 — Bangladesh’s first underground metro rail running from the airport to Kamalapur — was revised upward by 117.64 percent. Japan is financing the project.

Siam said Bangladesh has already sought technical assistance, capital funding and information support from Japan for various infrastructure projects. “These infrastructure cooperation issues will certainly be discussed at the bilateral meeting of the two prime ministers,” he noted. Beyond the metro rail, other mutual infrastructure projects will also feature in the detailed discussions.

The foreign secretary added that Bangladesh wants lower-interest loans from all its development partners, though global conditions and each country’s domestic considerations will influence the results.

The talks are also expected to cover energy security, broader infrastructure cooperation, trade and increased Japanese investment in Bangladesh.