The inclusion of new locomotives is expected to significantly contribute to modernization of Bangladesh Railway (BR) system and improvement of connectivity and transportation, says the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka.

This will ultimately serve as a cornerstone of socio-economic development of Bangladesh, it said.

Bangladesh is the second largest recipient of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) loans worldwide in aggregate amount.

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So far, the Republic of Korea has funded 24 development projects of Bangladesh with total amount of 1.2 billion US dollars through the EDCF.

On Wednesday, the inaugural ceremony of 30 metre-gauge and 16 broad-gauge locomotives was held at Kamalapur Railway Station with the virtual presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the chief guest.

U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas and South Korean Chargé d’Affaires Jungyoul Lee were also present in the occasion.

Among the 30 metre-gauge locomotives, 20 locomotives are funded by concessional loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the Korean government.

The EDCF funded US$ 91 million for the procurement of 20 metre-gauge diesel electric locomotives.

EDCF is a Korea’s development financing program for assisting the socio-economic development of developing countries. The repayment period of the EDCF loans will be 40 years, including 15 year grace period, with the annual interest rate between 0.01%~0.05%.

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The delivery of 20 locomotives had been completed in November 2021. All 30 metre-gauge locomotives, 20 EDCF-funded and 10 ADB-funded locomotives, have been procured from Hyundai Rotem Company of Korea, one of the leading companies in railway vehicles industry in the world.

Korea’s state-of-the-art railway technology has also been transferred to Bangladesh as Korean railway vehicle manufacturing companies, such as Hyundai Rotem Company and Sung Shin RST, have participated in the procurement of Bangladesh Railway.