Bangladesh signs a billion-dollar IsDB facility to rebuild its only oil refinery

On 3 September 2026 Bangladesh and the Islamic Development Bank signed a US$1 billion financing agreement for the modernisation and expansion of the Eastern Refinery. The total project is US$2.5 billion, with the IsDB loan matched by US$1.5 billion from Bangladesh through taxes and duties. It is targeted for completion within five years and adds three million metric tonnes of annual refining capacity, for a total of 4.5 million. The expansion is intended to cut petroleum imports, saving roughly US$394 million a year in foreign exchange, and to produce fuel meeting Euro 5 standards.

This is a QeRN summary by Ahmed Qerni. Read the original at Islamic Development Bank: https://www.isdb.org/news/bangladesh-and-isdb-sign-us1-billion-financing-agreement-for-eastern-refinery-expansion.