The Asian Development Bank (ADB), as a transaction advisor for the Government of Bangladesh’s Rampura-Amulia-Demra Expressway public–private partnership (PPP) project, has mobilized $261 million of private sector capital for a four-lane, 13.5 km expressway, reports UNB.

It will ease traffic congestion and provide better connectivity between the capital Dhaka and other major cities.

The remaining $68 million is provided by sponsors as equity contributions, ADB said on Thursday.

ADB assisted in project structuring, negotiation, tender execution, and provided support for commercial award and financial closure.

“We worked with the public authorities in Bangladesh to prepare, market, and attract private sector partners to design, build, finance, operate and maintain this expressway,” said Head of ADB Office of Markets Development and PPP, Cleo Kawawaki.

He said that the Rampura-Amulia-Demra PPP project was delivered under an availability payment mechanism with partial revenue linked to US dollar and taka exchange rate movements, whereas the first road transaction, the $370 million Dhaka Bypass Road PPP, was structured as a minimum revenue guarantee.

The deal—part of a programmatic approach taken by ADB to develop road PPPs as an asset class for investments—is the second successful financial closure of a PPP transaction with ADB as transaction advisor in Bangladesh.

The Rampura-Amulia-Demra Expressway will be designed, constructed, financed, operated, and maintained during a 25 year concession period by a consortium comprising China Communications Construction Company Limited and China Road and Bridge Corporation.

Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul