Dhaka, Sept. 5 -- Modernizing and expanding refining capacity of Eastern Refinery Limited, the country's lone facility for converting crude oil into refined petroleum products, is finally set to see the light of day. Besides directly reducing Bangladesh's reliance on imports generally in the energy sector, and particularly for refined petroleum.

The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) will provide over $1.0 billion in financing for the modernization project. A financing agreement titled "Modernization and Expansion of Eastern Refinery in Bangladesh" was signed between the Government of Bangladesh and the IsDB on Thursday (September 3).

Dr. Md Mizanur Rahman, Additional Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), signed ...