Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to give more than US$6bn to Bangladesh for the development projects, including improvement of regional connectivity, ensuring energy efficiency, health and education in the next three years.
The Manila-based lender came up with the disclosure at its recently published report on the Country Operations Business Plan for 2016-2018. Under a three-year plan, the ADB will support the government’s continued efforts in industrial development to diversify the economy and in rural development to manage urbanisation.
“ADB will prioritise activities to develop infrastructure, skills, resilience to environmental and climate change, the private sector, and regional cooperation and integration,” said the report.
It said the final allocation would depend on the availability of the Asian Development Fund and concessional ordinary capital resources as well as the outcome of the country’s performance assessments by the bank.
However, Bangladesh needs to strengthen public–private partnerships, improve governance in local governments, enhance skills, and mainstream gender equity and knowledge solutions within the period.
The ADB will hold consultations with the government to explore opportunities for co-financing to increase the scope of projects. Private sector operations will be catalysed using the ADB’s non-sovereign lending products.
The ADB would continue to focus on the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, improving energy efficiency, and developing regional cooperation in power trading.
The ADB will focus on improving road maintenance, increasing the capacity of regional road corridor from Dhaka to north-western Bangladesh, and building the Dhaka–Chittagong–Cox’s Bazar railway corridor.
Additional financing for Sub-regional Transport Project Preparatory Facility (Technical Assistance loan) in 2015 will support the preparation for the improvement of 600 km of roads in eight sub-regional corridors, and the conversion of the Dhaka–Chittagong–Cox’s Bazar rail corridor to dual-gauge from meter gauge.
Tranche-I of the SASEC Roads Project II is scheduled for 2017. The Railway Rolling Stock Project, scheduled for 2015, will enhance railway services by providing more and better rolling stock. The first tranche for the SASEC Chittagong–Cox’s Bazar Railway Project Phase-1 in 2016 (standby) will finance a new 100-km railway line.
The three-year plan will strengthen the ADB involvement in primary and secondary education, skills development and science, technology and innovation.
Tranche-III of the Skills for Employment Investment Programme in 2017 will support policy and institutional reforms and improving job placements.
The Information Technology Parks for Employment in 2017 (standby) will support skills development in technology and innovation.
In the finance sector, the ADB’s focus will remain on the development of a capital market, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and infrastructure financing.
The Small and Medium Enterprise–II Project in 2015 (standby) will support access to finance for the SMEs in non-metropolitan areas.
The Third Public–Private Infrastructure Development Facility Project in 2016 (standby) will address infrastructure deficiencies by providing long-term debt financing for private sector-sponsored infrastructure projects.
The ADB will support the integrated planning process for climate change mitigation and adaptation, water supply and sanitation in large cities, urban primary health care, and governance.