Bangladesh has signed two agreements with the World Bank to finance two projects worth $473m for developing a strong financial sector and long term disaster resilience in the urban areas, namely Dhaka and Sylhet.
The $300m Financial Sector Support Project aims at improving financial market infrastructure, regulatory and oversight capacity of the central bank and access to long-term financing for private firms in Bangladesh.
The main goal of another $173m project is to strengthen the capacity of government agencies to respond to emergency events and to strengthen systems to reduce the vulnerability of future building construction to disasters in the two cities.
Economic Relations Division (ERD) Senior Secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin and WB Acting Head in Dhaka office Christine E Kimes signed two separate agreements on behalf of their respective organisations.
Credits from IDA – a concessional arm of the WB - have a 38-year term, including a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75%.
“The two projects will contribute to building a prosperous and resilient Bangladesh. The Financial Sector Support Project will help make doing business in Bangladesh easier by providing eligible private sector firms with access to long-term financing. This will help to create more jobs,” said Christine Kimes.
“The World Bank is currently investing about US$1.2bn to build resilience to coastal flooding and cyclones. Promoting urban resilience is a greater challenge, as rapid urbanisation and population density are making Bangladeshi cities more vulnerable to disasters. The Urban Resilience Project will help improve emergency management and building construction practices.”
The Urban Resilience Project will address seismic risk and reduce structural vulnerability of future building constructions in Dhaka and Sylhet. The project will strengthen the capacity of Government agencies to respond to emergency events by equipping them with response resources, including emergency operations centers, inter-operable communication systems, and search and rescue equipment. The project will also contribute to improved building construction practices through certified training programs and development of on-line permitting systems in Dhaka and Sylhet.
