Bangladesh secured higher foreign loan commitments in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, yet actual disbursement fell by 26 percent compared with the same period last year, raising concerns about the country’s ability to use external funds effectively.

Interest payments against foreign loans shot up 162 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of the last fiscal year as debt servicing of loans taken for some mega projects has started.

In July-April of 2023-24, the government paid $2.81 billion as principal and interests, which was $1.95 billion in the same period of the previous year, according to the data released yesterday by the Economic Relations Division (ERD).