The government is set to transform about 67 kilometres of meter gauge rail line into dual gauge for Tk 1,683 crore to provide railway transit to India, Nepal and Bhutan and increase trade among the countries.

The project, for which India would finance 81 percent of the cost, got the green light yesterday at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

Bangladesh and India have been laying emphasis on inter-country rail communication, according to the proposal from the planning ministry.

The Indian part has broad gauge rail line, while Bangladesh's is meter gauge, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters after the meeting.

If Bangladesh's rails are transformed into broad gauge trains can run between the two countries, he added.

By transforming the rail link from Parbatipur to Kaunia in Rangpur to broad gauge, Bangladesh can establish railway transit with India, Nepal and Bhutan through the Rohanpur-Singabad railway link and Radhikapur-Birol railway link.

The project will be financed from the Indian Line of Credit (LOC) so that alongside trade and commerce between the two countries, it will also facilitate India's wish for getting transit through Bangladesh for transhipment of goods, said a finance ministry official.

Ecnec also approved a Tk 632 crore project for the much-needed upgrade of the insurance regulator with the view to developing Bangladesh's insurance

sector.

"The insurance sector could not keep pace with the economic growth," Kamal said.

The project will enable the insurance sector to contribute more to the economy as its oversight power will increase.

"The insurance companies are more interested to take premium but not so interested in meeting the claims," he said. At present, there are 78 insurance companies.

Of the project cost, Tk 91 crore would go towards building the IT infrastructure, Tk 79 crore for automation, and about Tk 9 crore for setting up distance learning centre and implementation of the interactive portal of the IDRA.

The second component of the project is modernisation of the state-owned Sadharan Bima and Jiban Bima Corporation.

Of the total project cost, the World Bank will provide Tk 513 crore.

Since its establishment in 2011, the IDRA has neither been given the human and financial resources nor the independence to carry out its activities in an effective manner to help achieve the objectives, according to the WB document.

The main goal of the project is to equip the IDRA to build and put into practice a professional and modern regulatory and supervisory system, it added.

Ecnec approved another project of Tk 819.51 crore for acquisition, development and conservation of land for setting up the 1,320 megawatt coal-based power plant at Kalapara in Patuakhali.

The Ashuganj Power Station Company, an agency of the Bangladesh Power Development Board, entered into a joint venture agreement with China Energy Engineering Corpora-tion in July last year to build the power plant.

Formation of the joint venture company is underway, according to planning ministry documents.

The 1,320MW (2X660MW) super thermal power plant will be built in Kalapara, which will be the coal-based "power hub" of the country.

The project is expected to be complete within December next year, according to documents.

Another 1320MW coal-based power plant is being built in Kalapara near Payra Sea Port in Patuakhali.

The China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation along with North-West Power Generation Company of Bangladesh are constructing the power plant in Kalapara.Construction work of the power plant began in April 2016 and as of December last year 31 percent of the work has been completed.

The authorities are hopeful that a 660MW unit of the plant will be commissioned by April next year and another unit of the same capacity by October.

A total of $1.6 billion will be invested in the plant, 20 percent of which would be equity and 80 percent loan financing. The Chinese Exim Bank will finance the project, with China and Bangladesh share 50-50 equity in the project.