Communications Minister Obaidul Quader said on Sunday Malaysia will submit a final proposal on the Padma bridge project in three weeks.
After meeting Malaysia's Special Envoy to South Asia on Infrastructure S Samy Vellu, Quader told reporters, "The Malaysian delegation has placed the concession agreement of the [Padma bridge] project on the costs during and afterwards the construction and how it will be returned."
He would not be drawn on the specifics of the concession agreement before the final proposal is in.
"There are some strategic problems if I talk about it," Quader added.
The meeting between the Communications Minister and a seven-strong Malaysian delegation, led by Vellu, began around 11:45am and ran for an hour.
The envoy also met Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on Sunday noon on the proposal submitted on Jun 28 to build the Padma bridge.
But the Finance Minister declined to say anything about their meeting. He told reporters, "I won't say anything. The Communications Minister will say what is necessary."
Quader said the final proposal will be screened. "The evaluation committee headed by Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury will examine Malaysia's final proposal. Then it will be sent to the law ministry for vetting. The Cabinet will take the final decision about the proposal after that."
Though he did not say anything clearly about what the Malaysians proposed, the minister said the final proposal will be a 'win-win' one for both countries.
Asked whether the government has abandoned the idea of building the bridge with its own funding, Quader said, "The government has ditched the Cabinet's decision. But why would we say no if anybody wants to help?"
He also said the possibility of establishing a consortium, led by Bangladesh, to build the Padma bridge cannot be ruled out.
Asked whether the Malaysian envoy said anything about beginning the bridge's construction, Quader told reporters, "They want to begin the work within this year."
Earlier, Quader had told reporters that he will take iftar with the Malaysian envoy and have a second meeting with them at 3pm Monday.
Dhaka had contacted Kuala Lumpur to construct the 6.15-kilometre long Padma bridge, which would connect the capital with 16 districts of backward south-western region, after the Bangladesh government ran into a dispute with the World Bank.
The global lender in Jun 29 pulled out of the $2.9 billion project raising corruption allegations, throwing funds pledged by the other donors into uncertainty.
The governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia on Apr 10 signed a memorandum of understanding in Kuala Lumpur on cooperation in the construction of the bridge and associated facilities.
On May 28, a delegation of the Malaysian government, led by Samy Vellu, had submitted a proposal to the Communications Minister to build the country's largest infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) extended their loan deal for the project by a month last Wednesday after the government had written to the three other donors including Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to keep the funds available.
Of the proposed $2.9 billion project, the World Bank had agreed to provide $1.2 billion and ADB pledged $610 million. The Jeddah-based IDB is to provide $140 million and JICA said it would contribute $400 million in the project.
On Jul 1, Muhith in a press conference refuted the corruption charges the World Bank had levelled against the government in cancelling its loan and urged the global lender to review its decision.
After meeting Malaysia's Special Envoy to South Asia on Infrastructure S Samy Vellu, Quader told reporters, "The Malaysian delegation has placed the concession agreement of the [Padma bridge] project on the costs during and afterwards the construction and how it will be returned."
He would not be drawn on the specifics of the concession agreement before the final proposal is in.
"There are some strategic problems if I talk about it," Quader added.
The meeting between the Communications Minister and a seven-strong Malaysian delegation, led by Vellu, began around 11:45am and ran for an hour.
The envoy also met Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on Sunday noon on the proposal submitted on Jun 28 to build the Padma bridge.
But the Finance Minister declined to say anything about their meeting. He told reporters, "I won't say anything. The Communications Minister will say what is necessary."
Quader said the final proposal will be screened. "The evaluation committee headed by Dr Jamilur Reza Chowdhury will examine Malaysia's final proposal. Then it will be sent to the law ministry for vetting. The Cabinet will take the final decision about the proposal after that."
Though he did not say anything clearly about what the Malaysians proposed, the minister said the final proposal will be a 'win-win' one for both countries.
Asked whether the government has abandoned the idea of building the bridge with its own funding, Quader said, "The government has ditched the Cabinet's decision. But why would we say no if anybody wants to help?"
He also said the possibility of establishing a consortium, led by Bangladesh, to build the Padma bridge cannot be ruled out.
Asked whether the Malaysian envoy said anything about beginning the bridge's construction, Quader told reporters, "They want to begin the work within this year."
Earlier, Quader had told reporters that he will take iftar with the Malaysian envoy and have a second meeting with them at 3pm Monday.
Dhaka had contacted Kuala Lumpur to construct the 6.15-kilometre long Padma bridge, which would connect the capital with 16 districts of backward south-western region, after the Bangladesh government ran into a dispute with the World Bank.
The global lender in Jun 29 pulled out of the $2.9 billion project raising corruption allegations, throwing funds pledged by the other donors into uncertainty.
The governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia on Apr 10 signed a memorandum of understanding in Kuala Lumpur on cooperation in the construction of the bridge and associated facilities.
On May 28, a delegation of the Malaysian government, led by Samy Vellu, had submitted a proposal to the Communications Minister to build the country's largest infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) extended their loan deal for the project by a month last Wednesday after the government had written to the three other donors including Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to keep the funds available.
Of the proposed $2.9 billion project, the World Bank had agreed to provide $1.2 billion and ADB pledged $610 million. The Jeddah-based IDB is to provide $140 million and JICA said it would contribute $400 million in the project.
On Jul 1, Muhith in a press conference refuted the corruption charges the World Bank had levelled against the government in cancelling its loan and urged the global lender to review its decision.