WB delays decision to fund road safety project: Obaidul Quader

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday said the World Bank is delaying its decision to finance a road safety project after showing repeated interest in it.
"The World Bank has made delays after expressing interest in financing the road safety project several times. If they don't come up, Bangladesh will implement the project with its own funding," he said while inaugurating virtually nine bridges under Dhaka zone.
Bangladesh needs to invest an about $ 7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities, according to a new World Bank report.
Quader also expressed its hope that the Padma Bridge, Metro Rail, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel and BRT projects would be opened to traffic next year.
He instructed the authorities concerned to expedite the work on roads and bridges across the country and make up the delays caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
Quader said a revolutionary change will take place in the communication sector across the country after the under-construction projects are completed.
Turning to current politics the Awami League general secretary said the next general election will be held on time following the constitution.
Quader made it clear that elections will be held in Bangladesh in the same way as in other democracies of the world.
Stating that there will be no bias in the election, the AL leader further said that the next election will be free and fair supervised by a neutral election commission.