Padma bridge: Bangladesh is owed an apology

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday sought apology and compensation from those who shamed Bangladesh, accusing some top officials of a conspiracy of corruption in the Padma Bridge project.

"It is time for those who defamed and humiliated us -- the incorruptible ones -- to seek an apology and voluntarily compensate for the disservice," he said at a discussion marking the opening of the Padma bridge at the Foreign Service Academy.

While he did not take any names, he made oblique references to the World Bank, which pulled out of providing funding for the bridge over the river Padma at the eleventh hour after allegations of corruption surfaced.

Later, the Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Islamic Development Bank withdrew their support from the project.

"It is not right to believe the institutions just because they are big. Many a time, they resort to chicanery of various purposes," said Momen, who joined in the event virtually.

Following the allegations, Syed Abul Hossain, who was the communications minister then, resigned.

Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, the then secretary to the bridges division, was suspended and arrested for his alleged involvement in the corruption conspiracy. Fingers were also pointed towards Prime Minister's Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman.

The corruption charges then went to a court in Canada, but the allegations were not proven.

"Many of our scholars danced to the tune of the foreigners. It is time for them to rethink their ways of thinking," Momen said.

The WB worked inefficiently with regards to the allegations of corruption conspiracy, Rahman said.

It was not good form of the WB to take a major decision based on secret information, said Bhuyian, who is now Bangladesh's ambassador to Germany.

"In fact, that was the time when I had told the World Bank that its jurisprudence was weak. That way of working can only humiliate people, not support them," he said at the event.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's decision then to forge ahead with the project with own funds was correct as it was based on people's welfare, the dignity of the nation and above all, patriotism.

The least-developed countries often are trapped in various forms of conditions set by the global lenders, said Shahriar Alam, the state minister for foreign affairs.

"Bangladesh's success in implementing the Padma bridge project would be an inspiration for the other LDC countries," he added.

Apart from boosting connectivity in South and Southeast Asia, the Padma bridge would make Bangladesh's position stronger in the regional geopolitical landscape, said Masud Bin Momen, the foreign secretary.

"We have implemented a number of mega projects and more are underway, but now we need to focus on mega social infrastructure that is education and health, to reap the full benefits of the projects," said Selim Raihan, a professor at the University of Dhaka's economics department.