Debt increased from $21b to $80 b in 15-yr

How much grabbed by Hasina?

Mahfuz Emran: After the departure of the BNP-led four-party coalition government (at the end of 2006), the foreign debt of Bangladesh was slightly less than $19 billion. In the two years of the caretaker government, it increased to about $202 million. At the end of 2008, it stood at slightly more than $21 billion. However, during the rule of Awami League, it increased to more than $79 billion. That is, in 15.5 years, the foreign debt of the government has increased four times.
By reviewing the data of the central bank, it can be seen that the amount of foreign debt of the government at the end of 2008 was $21.19 billion. On January 6, 2009, the Awami League-led grand coalition government took over. Over the next five years, the government’s foreign debt increased by $6.53 billion.
At the end of 2013, the foreign debt of the government stood at $27.72 billion.
Analyzing the data of those five years, it can be seen that the foreign debt of the government increased by $1.12 billion in 2009, but it decreased by $675 million in 2010.
But next year it will increase to about $729 million. Although in 2012 it increased to about $1.77 billion and in 2013 it was about $3.59 billion.
In 2014, the Awami League government came to power again. In the next five years (2014-2018) foreign debt increased rapidly. In those five years, the foreign debt of the government increased by $16.82 billion or 60.68 percent.
According to the report of Bangladesh Bank, the government’s foreign debt position at the end of 2018 stood at $44.55 billion. Analysis of the data of those five years shows that foreign debt increased by $2.77 billion in 2014. However, the following year it increased to only $31 million.
In 2016, foreign debt increased to $1.94 billion, in 2017 it was a record $6.43 billion and in 2018 it was $5.69 billion. Meanwhile, the foreign debt increased the most during the five years (2019-2023) of the third consecutive term of the Awami League government. During this period, foreign debt increased by $35.14 billion or about 79 percent. According to the report, at the end of December 2023, the foreign debt status of the Bangladesh government has increased to $79.69 billion. In 2019, foreign debt has increased by $5.33 billion in these five years. The increase in 2020 was $8.30 billion, the second highest in the nation’s history. In 2021, it increased to $9.53 billion, which is the highest in the history of Bangladesh. In 2022, the government’s foreign debt increased by $4.48 billion and in 2023 it increased by $7.5 billion, which is the third highest.
Although the foreign debt of the government has decreased in the first three months of this year. At the end of last March, the foreign debt of the government stood at $79 billion. Data for June has not yet been released. However, since April-June is the last quarter of the fiscal year, it is assumed that the foreign debt will increase in those three months. At this time, the debt of the government will exceed $80 billion, said those concerned. When asked, Executive Director of Policy Research Institute Ahsan H. Mansoor told that the Awami League government has taken foreign loans for various mega projects in the last few years without planning. A large amount of foreign loans are also taken in the power sector. Rooppur nuclear power plant construction project is one of them. Again, some big projects like Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, Karnaphuli Tunnel were not needed now. These projects have been taken suddenly without any kind of study.
He also said that the new government should give importance to the matter so that big unplanned projects are not taken up in the future. Any big project should be taken carefully. If the Japanese do a project cheaply, it can be taken. But be careful about China’s debt. If they give cheap loans, it can be taken. However, the country will be under pressure to repay the amount of foreign debt that is currently there. Therefore, attention should be paid to how to increase export earnings and remittances in the future.