Belt and Road Initiative Projects in Bangladesh

under construction

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a Chinese foreign policy and economic strategy aimed at connecting Asia with Africa and Europe through land and maritime networks. Bangladesh became a part of the BRI in 2016, signing deals worth $21.5 billion with China. The initiative includes infrastructure projects such as upgrading Chattogram Port, building an industrial park, constructing road and railway lines linking the Bay of Bengal port to Kunming in China's Yunnan province, building eight friendship bridges including the $3.7 billion Padma River bridges, and investing in a $1 billion digital connectivity project. China is also heavily investing in Bangladesh's power sector, particularly coal-fired power plants in Chattogram and Payra. These projects are part of China's efforts to align BRI projects with Bangladesh's development priorities and to support the country's infrastructure development.