China, Bangladesh road project hits bribe bump; may slow down Beijing's connectivity plans

NEW DELHI: A China-funded road initiative in Bangladesh has suffered a setback after authorities blacklisted the project executing company for attempting to bribe a senior bureaucrat earlier, according to officials.

The development could slow down Beijing's connectivity plans in the region. Senior Bangladeshi officials told ET that China Harbour Engineering Company, which was awarded the contract to widen the 226-km-long Dhaka-Sylhet highway into four lanes with Chinese funds, had offered five million takas to Bangladesh road transport and highways division secretary Nazrul Islam in October last year as bribe to get the contract. The money was offered in foreign currency, the officials said.
However, according to the officials, Islam informed road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader about it. The minister then discussed the matter with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the ministry handed over the money to the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka, the officials said.

The government subsequently blacklisted China Harbour from undertaking any work in the country and decided to implement the project on its own.

The Chinese government declined to comment. Earlier this week, exposing the bribery attempt, Bangladesh finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith had said, "The Chinese company openly offered the bribe."

When reporters asked him about the matter on Tuesday, Muhith said, "A blacklist is a blacklist."

China’s critics have often accused its government of offering bribes to obtain projects in SE Asia, South Asia, Africa and Eurasia. Some of these projects are connectivity projects, which were later brought under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). They allege that kickbacks have increased project cost in many cases.