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 Christine Kimes
Country Director of WB Dhaka office
WB pledges $300m fund
Financial Sector Support project
The World Bank (WB) will provide $300 million to Bangladesh to build a strong financial sector and $ 173 million for long term disaster resilience in the urban areas in Dhaka and Sylhet.
To this end, the government yesterday signed two financing agreements with the International Development Agency (IDA), World Banks (WB) concessional arm.
The projects are-- $300 million for the Financial Sector Support project and $173 million for the Urban Resilience project.
The agreement was signed by Senior Secretary of Economic relations Division (ERD), Mohammad Mejbahuddin and acting Country Director of WB Dhaka office Christine Kimes on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank, respectively, at the Economic Relations Division in the capital.
The Financial Sector Support project will support developing long-term financing market in Bangladesh. The project will enable the
participating financial institutions to provide long-term financing to manufacturing and export intensive firms.
The financing institutions will lend at commercially determined rates and also offer Shariah-compliant financial products.
The project will also strengthen Bangladesh Banks supervisory and oversight functions and support building the financial infrastructure, including the payments system, credit reporting systems, and other areas.
The two projects signed yesterday 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 $1.2 billion to build resilience to coastal flooding and cyclones. Promoting urban resilience is a greater challenge, as rapid urbanization and population density are making Bangladeshi cities more vulnerable to disasters.
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 centres, 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.
Bangladesh needs a transparent, inclusive, efficient and effective financial sector to realize its dream of becoming a middle income country, said Mohammad Mejbahuddin.
Enhancing resilience to disasters like earthquakes in the major urban centers is necessary not only to save human lives but also to under gird the development gains of the past years
Credits from IDA have a 38 year term, including a 6 year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75 per cent.
