BIFEL to finance BAIL’s electric vehicle plant

Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited, a state-run specialised financial institution, is going to finance the country’s first electric vehicle manufacturing plant titled Auto Industries Ltd.  

To this effect, an agreement signing ceremony of the syndicated term loan worth Tk 167 crore was held recently in the capital, according to a press release issued on Sunday.

The other financiers are - Agrani Bank Ltd, Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, Bangladesh Development Bank Ltd and First Security Islami Bank Ltd.

BIFEL chief executive officer SM Anisuzzaman chaired the loan signing ceremony while Agrani Bank managing director and CEO Mohammad Shams-Ul Islam was attended the event as chief guest.

The proposed project’s cost is estimated at Tk 335 crore while financing would be at 50:50 debt-equity ratio for 8 years, said the release.

Fujiyan Taiyu Automobile Company Ltd of China is the technical partner of this investment.

BAIL plans to manufacture all sorts of vehicles starting from two-wheelers, three-wheelers, sedan, hatchback, and sport utility vehicles and gradually start manufacturing pickup trucks, mini trucks, and multipurpose vehicles.

The plant has almost completed setting up the factory on 100 acres of land at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar at Mirsharai of Chattogram.

It is expected to go for commercial operations within the next few months while its products to hit the market by June or July of 2022.

Considering purchasing capacity of the middle-class group, BAIL is hoping to sell a SUV at Tk 25 lakh, sedan at Tk 12 lakh-Tk 15 lakh, and a hatchback at Tk 8 lakh or even less.

Those vehicles would cut fuel cost by 90 per cent and per kilometre energy cost would be less than Tk 2.