Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to seek Chinese funding to build a deep sea port in the Bay of Bengal when she visits Beijing later this week, officials said on Wednesday. The proposed port on Sonadia Island off Bangladesh's southeast coast would cost billions of dollars, but Bangladeshi newspaper
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to seek Chinese funding to build a deep sea port in the Bay of Bengal when she visits Beijing later this week, officials said on Wednesday.
The proposed port on Sonadia Island off Bangladesh's southeast coast would cost billions of dollars, but Bangladeshi newspapers have reported that Hasina hopes Beijing will pay part of the bill if a Chinese firm wins the contract.
The country's foreign ministry said the port would feature in the bilateral discussions when Hasina travels to China on Friday on a six-day visit.
Another senior official in the prime minister's office confirmed that the port project was expected to feature in discussions although he wouldn't say whether any kind of deal would be signed.
The country's largest circulation Bengali daily, Prothom Alo, has reported that state-owned China Harbour is in line to build the port.
It said an announcement to this effect would be made after the meeting between Hasina and her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang on June 9.
Chinese companies have previously built ports in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Dhaka's annual trade through its two sea ports currently stands at around US$60 billion.