Finance Minister AMA Muhith is refusing to throw in the towel even though rumours have it that the World Bank is not coming back into the Padma bridge project.
He is still sanguine about the global lender getting on board again to finance the ambitious project.
"Still, I have time until Aug 31. Don't get frustrated. So far nothing has happened to get frustrated," said Muhith at his Secretariat office on Tuesday.
Muhith made the observation as newspapers in the last two days reported that the lending agency would not release the promised fund since all the conditions it had given were not fulfilled.
It was rumoured that the Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Advisor Mashiur Rahman is going to resign as per the bank's demand but no information was available.
The World Bank cancelled a $ 1.2 billion loan for $ 2.9 billion bridge in June last year. The two other lenders, Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency extended the deadline of finalising the loan deal for the bridge until Aug 31.
The project will expire if the World Bank does not return by Aug 31.
Ever since the bank pulled itself out of the project, the government has been stating that the bridge will be built with own fund, if need be, but the Finance Minister has been trying to persuade the World Bank to return.
A few days back, Muhith had said, "If the World Bank finances (the project), image and dignity lost over the issue would be regained." He said he had prepared a letter which will be sent once a positive response was received in the ongoing negotiations.
After the Washington-based agency raised allegations of corruption last year, it gave the government some conditions for checking corruption in the project. As those remain unmet, it pulled out of Bangladesh's largest infrastructure project to date.
In the wake of controversy over the allegation of corruption, former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain resigned in July last year and former Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain was sent on leave.
He is still sanguine about the global lender getting on board again to finance the ambitious project.
"Still, I have time until Aug 31. Don't get frustrated. So far nothing has happened to get frustrated," said Muhith at his Secretariat office on Tuesday.
Muhith made the observation as newspapers in the last two days reported that the lending agency would not release the promised fund since all the conditions it had given were not fulfilled.
It was rumoured that the Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Advisor Mashiur Rahman is going to resign as per the bank's demand but no information was available.
The World Bank cancelled a $ 1.2 billion loan for $ 2.9 billion bridge in June last year. The two other lenders, Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency extended the deadline of finalising the loan deal for the bridge until Aug 31.
The project will expire if the World Bank does not return by Aug 31.
Ever since the bank pulled itself out of the project, the government has been stating that the bridge will be built with own fund, if need be, but the Finance Minister has been trying to persuade the World Bank to return.
A few days back, Muhith had said, "If the World Bank finances (the project), image and dignity lost over the issue would be regained." He said he had prepared a letter which will be sent once a positive response was received in the ongoing negotiations.
After the Washington-based agency raised allegations of corruption last year, it gave the government some conditions for checking corruption in the project. As those remain unmet, it pulled out of Bangladesh's largest infrastructure project to date.
In the wake of controversy over the allegation of corruption, former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain resigned in July last year and former Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain was sent on leave.
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