Photo : Collected
The government on Saturday signed a $71 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to ensure climate-resilient water resource management.
Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, secretary at the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Edimon Ginting, country director of the Bangladesh Resident Mission of the ADB, signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides.
Senior officials of the government of Bangladesh and ADB were present at the programme, according to an ERD press release.
The loan is titled "Loan 4440-BAN: Climate-Resilient Integrated Southwest Project for Water Resources Management". The project will be implemented by Bangladesh Water Development Board under the Ministry of Water Resources.
The objectives of the project are achieving high socio-economic status in the project area by increasing agricultural, fisheries, and other relevant development through the improved drainage congestion system; implementing integrated water resources and participatory water management plans in the area; creating provisions for improved infrastructure and coordinated support services for sustainable development; and establishing water management organisations (WMOs) to sustain the project benefits with strengthened institutional arrangements.
The project will be implemented between January 2024 and December 2028.
The press release said the ADB Ordinary Operations (Concessional) loan is repayable in 25 years, including a five-year grace period. Its interest rate is fixed at 2 per cent.
The ADB is one of the largest multilateral development partners of Bangladesh. It has been extending assistance to the country's prioritised sectors since Bangladesh became a member in 1973.
The ADB's total loan given to Bangladesh stands at $31,547.47 million, whereas the total grant amounts to around $571.2 million.
The lender’s development assistance mainly focuses on power, energy, local government, transport, education, agriculture, health, water resources, governance, and financial sectors in Bangladesh.
ADB’s support for Bangladesh advances climate resilience and socioeconomic recovery from external shocks with a focus on job creation, social protection, and sustainable infrastructure and development.
The ADB is a key source of external assistance for Bangladesh, providing $2 billion on average every year since 2016. ADB’s assistance is aligned with the country’s Eighth Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) and the Perspective Plan (2021–2041).
On its website, it says it has so far committed 701 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totalling $28.3 billion to Bangladesh. Besides, cumulative loan and grant disbursements to Bangladesh amount to $21.19 billion.
These were financed by regular and concessional ordinary capital resources, the Asian Development Fund, and other special funds. ADB’s ongoing sovereign portfolio in Bangladesh includes 70 loans and four grants worth $11.31 billion.
Moreover, the ADB committed $1.6 billion in public sector loans and grants to Bangladesh in 2022. This included $250 million for social protection and $200 million in microenterprise financing for job creation to support recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
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