South Korea has announced that it will provide a US$3 billion loan through Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to Bangladesh to assist in the implementation of different mega projects.

The EDCF Loan will fund two projects, procurement of CNG-run buses and modernization of railway signaling system. The railway project involves the modernization of the railway signaling system at 20 stations on the Ishwardi to Parbatipur route in Bangladesh. The CNG buses project involves the procurement of 340 air-conditioned buses for the state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation. 

The EDCF will provide the loan over the next five years, from 2023 to 2027. Early EDCF allocated US$700 million for the period 2021-2025. With an increase in concessional loan for Bangladesh, South Korea will be able to support projects in the areas of transport, health and education. The repayment period of the EDCF loans will be 40 years, including 15 year grace period, with the annual interest rate between 0.01 % and -0.05 %. Interested representatives of Bangladesh and South Korea also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the cooperation for Dhaka MRT Line 4.