FHM Humayan Kabir
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to make available US$ 2.52 billion worth of assistance to Bangladesh over the next three years up to 2016 to help develop its infrastructure and cut poverty, officials said.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) officials this week said the ADB is expected to sit with the ministries and agencies of the government next week to finalise its three-year lending programme for Bangladesh.
“We will take opinions on our draft lending programme from the ministries and agencies concerned. Then we will finalise the aid programme,” Govinda Bar, a spokesperson of the ADB’s Dhaka office, told the FE.
In the meantime, the ADB held consultations with different ministries and stakeholders on its proposed aid programme in the country, the sources said.
Under the proposed aid programme, the ADB would provide nearly $2.5 billion in the forms of loans and grants for upgrading Bangladesh’s infrastructure and cutting its poverty.
It would provide the highest amount of assistance for the transport and energy sectors, according to sources.
A senior ERD official said the ADB’s lending programme is very important for Bangladesh as the country needs support from donors for developing its infrastructure and improving particularly its situation in the energy sector.
The financial support from the ADB has steadily been growing in the recent years. He termed it a positive sign.
The ADB is the second largest multilateral donor of Bangladesh after the World Bank, in terms of its volume of aid disbursement.
The ADB assistance for Bangladesh currently accounts for over $900 million a year.
ADB’s existing portfolio for Bangladesh includes 59 loans, amounting to $ 5.22 billion, and 39 cases of technical assistance in the form of grants, totalling an amount of $ 30.15 million.
The ERD official said the ADB under its three-year lending programme spanning the period from 2014 to 2016 proposed the highest amount of funding support — US$ 655 million in loans — for the energy sector and $ 570 million, for the transport sector, in Bangladesh.
According to the aid programme, seven sectors including agriculture and natural resources, education, energy, financial, transport and water supply, and municipal infrastructure development have been given the priority.
The ADB will also update its current year’s lending progarmme for Bangladesh as it will provide $254 million worth of loans and grants through the official channel.
Under the proposed lending operations, it will provide financial support to Bangladesh for power generation, installing gas transmission lines, establishing regional connectivity and upgrading railway communications.
ADB’s cumulative lending to Bangladesh amounted to $ 13.96 billion for 226 cases of loans while its grants under technical assistance for 419 projects stood at $ 216.19 million, until February last.
Source: The Financial Express
