Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan jointly organised a web conference on “The 4th Bangladesh-Japan Joint PPP Platform Meeting” on 24 February, 2021 at the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr. Salman F. Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Honourable Prime Minister and Mr. NOMURA Masafumi, Vice-Minister, MLIT, Japan, graced the meeting with their presence. Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Md. Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, H.E. Mr. ITO Naoki, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Japan, H.E. Mr. Shahabuddin Ahmed, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan, Ms. Sultana Afroz, Secretary and CEO of PPPA, Secretaries of concerned ministries, senior government officials, private investors, representatives of financial institutions, MLIT and PPPA participated in the meeting.

H.E. Mr. ITO Naoki, Ambassador of Japan in Bangladesh delivered a welcome speech and said that Bangladesh and Japan will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Relations between both countries. The Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan emphasized the importance of PPP with Japan where Bangladesh will benefit from the transfer of technical knowledge, reduced risk exposure and availability of capital. Mr. Tofazzel Miah, Secretary, PMO, was impressed to see how MLIT and PPPA are working together and emphasize to select and implement large scale infrastructure projects in Bangladesh which will be a win win situation for both coutnries. Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, the Principal Secretary to HPM, highlighted the historical ties between Bangladesh and Japan, that goes back to the early 20th century when Rabindranath Tagore spent significant time with Japanese artists in Japan. He also mentioned that one of the best documentaries of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was made by a Japanese journalist. He also appreciated Japan’s support for PPP projects in Bangladesh as a trusted development partner.

Mr. NOMURA Masafumi, Vice-Minister, MLIT, Japan appreciated the support of PPPA and the government of Bangladesh not only for organizing the event but also for strengthening the partnership between Japanese investors and the Bangladesh government agencies. Mr. Salman F. Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser opined that PPP under the G2G modality is the best comfortable way to meet the much-needed infrastructure in Bangladesh. He also encouraged MLIT and the Japanese private to partner with Bangladesh private investors to implement PPP projects.

Ms. Sultana Afroz, Secretary and CEO of the PPP Authority in her welcome speech highlighted the “Policy for Implementing PPP Projects through Government to Government (G2G) Partnership 2017” approved by the Honourable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, under which Japan and Bangladesh are in the process to implement large scale infrastructure projects.

Mr. AMAKAWA Hirofumi, Assistant Vice Minister, MLIT, Japan expressed his gratitude to the Bangladesh Government, PPPA, private investors for their efforts to reach a higher level of development towards the proposed projects. He hoped that the decision making could be a little faster.

In the platform meeting, four projects were presented by Japanese side. Construction of Multimodal Transport Hub (MmTH) Kamalapur Railway Station Project was presented by Kajima Corporation.

Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar Highway Project to be developed into a four-lane expressway was shown by Marubeni Corporation. BUET has already submitted their findings and the progress of their work to Road and Highways Department. Progress of the Dhaka Outer Ring Road Project was also presented by RHD.

Detailed Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Mass Rapid Transit MRT Line-2 project presentation was delivered by DMTCL.

Along the previous projects, two new projects were discussed for implementing under this platform. These two projects are i) ‘Upgrading of Nabinagar-Manikgong-Paturia Road (N5) into Expressway Project’ presented by Roads and Highways Department (RHD); and (ii) ‘Concession for Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and Developments of Surrounding Area’ presented by Mitsubishi Corporation.

Ms. Sultana Afroz, Secretary and CEO, PPP Authority in her closing speech, thanked the distinguished participants for their active participation. She also expressed her confidence that with the support of the Governments of Bangladesh and Japan and the participating Sub Working Groups they would be able to successfully accelerate the implementation of the PPP projects under G2G modality.

Mr. NOMURA Masafumi, Vice-Minister, MLIT thanked everyone for constructive discussion and assured their commitment to continue to work with Government of Bangladesh to implement PPP projects.