Roundtable Discussion on The Governance of Power and Infrastructure Projects and the Implications for Public Debt Management
- Research Division
- Feb 18
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 1
Bangladesh’s rapid infrastructure expansion has been powered by borrowing but the way projects are governed is now emerging as a critical risk to the country’s fiscal future. In recent years, external debt has grown sharply while repayment pressures are rising, particularly in the power and infrastructure sectors. As global financial conditions tighten and major loan repayments approach, questions are intensifying about whether public borrowing is consistently translating into durable national assets or quietly creating long-term obligations that future taxpayers must carry.
This work brings a closer look at how decisions around project approval, procurement, contract design, and operations shape the real cost of development. It highlights how governance gaps from opaque negotiations to costly contract structures can inflate project expenses and lock governments into payments even when infrastructure is underused. At a moment when many emerging economies are reassessing debt risks after recent sovereign crises, the discussion raises an urgent challenge for Bangladesh: ensuring that public borrowing strengthens economic resilience rather than slowly eroding it.
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