DHAKA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 epidemic will not heavily affect mega development projects that Chinese firms implement in Bangladesh, Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming said while visiting the construction site of Bangladesh's largest Padma Bridge Rail Link Project on Wedensday.

During the traditional Chinese Spring Festival, Ambassador Li said thousands of Chinese engineers, technicians, and employees here did not choose to return to China and reunite with their families but continued to engage in the construction and production in Bangladesh with their dedication and hard labors to implement projects on time.

Therefore, he said many major projects were still under regular construction instead of being suspended.

"We believe that the COVID-19 outbreak will not have a significant adverse impact on China's large-scale production and operation activities in Bangladesh."

He expressed the hope that the government of Bangladesh, together with the Chinese government, continue to introduce effective policies and measures that will help battle against the epidemic and work resumption.

"We will not only be able to successfully mitigate the impact of the epidemic, but also bring China-Bangladesh economic and trade cooperation to a new high."

Meanwhile, Liu Jianhua, project manager of Padma Multipurpose Bridge, said up to the end of February 2020, 86 percent of the 6.15-km Padma bridge construction had been completed.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, officials of China Major Bridge Company Limited and Chinese Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) said they have quickly taken the rapid response and immediately followed the instructions and arrangements in relation to the prevention and controlling of the epidemic as issued from the Chinese government and higher officials.

"Due to the effective actions taken by the CREC, there has been no single case of coronavirus infection among the staff of those two mega projects," said Wang Kun, vice-president of the International Business Division of CREC.