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Muhith to brief Japan on security measures for foreign nationals

Rejaul Karim Byron
Finance Minister AMA Muhith will fly to Tokyo today to highlight the security measures the government has taken for the foreign nationals working in Japan-financed projects in Bangladesh.
After the terrorist attack in Dhaka in July, many of the donor-funded projects lost momentum which prompted Muhith to make the move.
During his five-day visit, Muhith will meet with Japanese finance minister, the president of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other high officials.
Muhith will brief them on the security measures that have been taken so far after the Holey Artisan attack and what will be done in future, a finance ministry official said.
Bangladesh now receives the highest amount of foreign aid from Japan among the bilateral donor countries at a very low interest rate of 0.01 percent.
The rate is the lowest among all multilateral and bilateral lenders, with a repayment period of 50 years, including a grace period of 10 years.
Currently, Japan commits about $700 million each year as developmentassistance.
The country has already made commitments to finance a number of large infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.
The projects include Matarbari coal-fired power project, several bridge and power projects, metro rail and Dhaka mass rapid transit development project, which means the annual commitment of Japan will cross $1 billion in the next couple of years.
Many foreign consultants and officials are still afraid of working or moving freely in Bangladesh, which resulted in a slow progress of the projects, sources said. In the last week of October, the Economic Relations Division held a review meeting on the implementation status of the Japan-funded projects where all project directors and officials of Japan's Dhaka embassy were present.
The finance ministry official said the Japan-funded projects are reviewed in every three months and their financial year starts in April.
Presently, around 35 Japan-funded projects are running.
The review found that in the first two quarters—April to September—the disbursement target was 19,557 million yen (about $172.3 million) while the amount disbursed was 12,267 million yen or nearly 63 percent of the target.
The meeting discussed various barriers to the implementation of the projects with the main focus on security issues.
Japan is satisfied with the measures the government has taken in many projects, but
they have concern about some other projects, the finance ministry official said.
After visiting the areas of Kanchpur, Meghna and Gumti bridges, the officials of JICA said the security arrangements the government has made in the area can be an example for other projects.
According to project officials, a comprehensive security plan has been prepared in line with the suggestions from law enforcement agencies.
Security has been enhanced on the three sites; additional boundary wall, watch tower, CCTV camera, archway and metal detectors have been installed. Around 250 policemen and Ansar members have been deployed.
But the 22 foreign consultants who are involved in many other projects like the city governance project—which has been split into 37 packages—have refrained from working since the Holy Artisan attack for security reasons.