Communications Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said the government would manage alternative sources of funds, if necessary, to construct the Padma bridge if the World Bank (WB) decides not to finance the largest infrastructure project in Bangladesh.

"It is up to the World Bank whether it will finance the Padma bridge or not," he told reporters after the opening ceremony of a two-day regional seminar on infrastructure at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

"But we have to construct it because we promised the people that we would. The World Bank has no such liability to anybody," said the minister.

The minister also said he does not think there would be any relationship stalemate between Bangladesh and the WB even if the Washington-based lender decides not to finance the project.

He said if the WB does not finance the proposed bridge, the government could still ask it to finance the second bridge over the river.

"If we cannot construct the first Padma bridge with the financing of the World Bank, we will request it to help finance the second Padma bridge."

"We have to start the construction of the bridge during our tenure but it is not possible to get funds from the World Bank within the time due to its lengthy process."

"The WB could transfer the fund to the second Padma bridge or any other project. We will make requests to that effect," Quader said.

He said construction of the much-talked Padma bridge would start in the next nine months.

The minister also said the WB has extended the deadline for the loan effectuation by six months. "The World Bank has done so on its own. Bangladesh has made no such request."

The minister said the WB, Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Islamic Development Bank are Bangladesh's development partners in many of the country's projects.

"We have no enmity with any of them."

The Daily Star/ Bangladesh/ 10th May 2012

World Bank Country Director Ellen Goldstein yesterday said two Bibiyana private power projects did not fit the criteria to be funded under the Bank's Investment Promotion Financing Facility (IPFF).

In other words, local company Summit that was awarded the two Bibiyana projects would not get its expected $115 million from the IPFF.

Construction of both these projects failed to begin as per schedule due to financing problems. Summit has meanwhile started construction of another large plant in Meghnaghat without completing financial arrangement.

Talking to journalists at a regional seminar on infrastructure at Sonargaon Hotel, Goldstein said, “The Bibiyana project does not actually meet the criterion to be financed under the IPFF. Unfortunately, that operation was not appropriate for financing that project.”

She added that the WB has informed its stance to Summit many months ago.

Summit chief Muhammad Aziz Khan told The Daily Star that indeed such lower power projects did not meet the IPFF criterion, which was founded to finance smaller-scale schemes.

But not getting the IPFF is not the main problem with the Bibiyana financing. The WB had promised the government of $100 million Performance Risk Guarantee (PRG) for each of the three power projects of Meghnaghat and Bibiyana. The PRG helps the project contractor to get loans from other banks.

“But they have not given the PRG. As a result, we did not get loans. However we are continuing to pursue rightful remedies and hope that the project will be implemented,” Aziz added.

As per the agreement with the government, Summit was supposed to close its finance in February for the Bibiyana power projects -- each with 341 megawatt capacity. Summit won the bidding for these power projects by submitting a very low price of around Tk 2.6 per kilowatt hour for 22 years.

Summit claimed that it is facing the problem because the WB refrained from giving the PRG apparently as it will not fund anything unless the Padma bridge corruption allegation is cleared.

The Daily Star/ Bangladesh/ 10th May 2012

Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) has inaugurated its off-shore banking unit at the city’s Banani area.

Chairman of the bank’s board of directors Anisul Hoque opened it as chief guest, said a press release on Wednesday.

The bank will be able to serve non-resident Bangladeshis efficiently and draw foreign investment benefiting the country’s economy through this unit, he said.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 10-May-2012

Dhaka Bank Limited has donated a bus to BN Ashar Alo School and Rehabilitation Centre, a school for the disabled children, at Sailors Colony II at Newmooring in Chittagong.

Reshadur Rahman, Chairman of the bank handed the key of the bus over to Begum Shabnam Ahmed, President of Bangladesh Navy Family Welfare Association (BNFWA) and wife of Navy Chief on Tuesday at the school premises, said an ISPR release.

Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Z U Ahmed was present in the ceremony.

BN Ashar Alo School and Rehabilitation Centre is run under direct supervision of Bangladesh Navy.

Shabnam Ahmed, President of BNFWA thanked the authorities of Dhaka Bank Limited for extending their hands to the children.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 10-May-2012

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is likely to launch an e-payment system by the end of the month to ease hassles of taxpayers by gradually replacing the manual tax payment system.

Taxpayers including companies, will be able to pay income tax, value added tax and customs duties online after the launch of the electronic payment system, said an official of the NBR yesterday.

But initially, the taxpayers having accounts with banks that share Q cash ATM (automated teller machine) networks will get the scope to pay taxes online.

Two state-run banks, Sonali and Janata, as well as 24 private banks  are in the Q cash network.

Other banks that issue Visa debit or credit cards will also come gradually under the e-payment system, said Kanon Kumar Roy, e-governance focal point officer of the NBR.

"Individual taxpayers and businesses will be able to pay tax online using debit or credit cards or bank accounts for any year. Taxes can be paid anytime from anywhere," he said.

Companies will require to log on to the NBR website and register by using their tax identification number or business identification number, said Roy, also the director general of Directorate of Inspection (taxes) under the NBR.

To finally pay online, the taxpayers will have to use their debit or credit card numbers and personal identification number. After completion of these procedures, the taxpayers will get acknowledgement receipts with bar codes.

Roy said these acknowledgement receipts will be treated as approved, allowing the taxpayers to show these printed copies of these receipts or the bar codes at the time of submission of tax returns.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the e-payment system.

The e-payment system comes in line with the NBR goal of automating the entire revenue collection process to ease hassles of the taxpayers and boost revenue collection by curbing pilferage and anomalies.

Currently, the taxpayers have to pay taxes through treasury chalan (voucher) or pay orders to deposit taxes to the state exchequer through Sonali Bank.

It causes hassles to the taxpayers as they have to stand for long in queues to deposit money and get receipt of payments.

The existing system also has some flaws. Sometimes taxpayers, who complete tax payment related formalities, find that their taxes are not deposited because of misappropriation of fund by middlemen through forgery of documents, insiders said.

In case of pay orders, the taxpayers need to go to the concerned tax office to get receipt of payments. And field-level staffs of tax need to submit these pay orders to treasury for confirmation of tax payment.

But in many cases, the staffs do not submit the pay orders deliberately to get bribe from the taxpayers. It creates uncertainty for the taxpayers, they added.

Roy said e-payment will ease these hassles.

The method will also enable higher authorities to be informed about the latest revenue collection situation, he added.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 9th May 2012