Malaysia officially submitted its public-private partnership proposal last month for the bridge, which is estimated to cost US$2.9 billion.

"They are very happy and discussions with two participating contractors will be finalised another week or so," said Malaysia’s special envoy to India and South Asia, Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu. However, the final price negotiations would take about six weeks at least, he said.

Bangladesh is reported to be scrutinising the Malaysian proposal while also considering options for building the bridge with domestic funds.