$74m WB loan to improve e-govt services, air quality

The government yesterday signed two additional financing agreements totaling US$ 74 million with the World Bank to improve the country's e-government services in its agencies as well as improve air quality of Dhaka city, reports UNB.
The US$ 39 million additional financing to Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment and Governance (LICTGEG) Project will scale-up the e-Government infrastructure and services, through which all government ministries and agencies will be able to avail shared technology infrastructure for their systems and services.
This will allow the public sector to benefit from higher efficiency, reduce risks in the use of IT and promote the e-Governance efforts in the years ahead. Bangladeshi citizens and businesses will benefit from improved reliability of public services, said a press release of the World Bank.
"These two financings will help Bangladesh improve lives and living standards of its population. The additional financing to LICTGEG project will help improve public sector administration and public services through the use of e-Government technologies and innovations," said Rajashree Paralkar, acting World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh.
"The additional financing to Clean Air and Sustainable Project will help address Dhaka's environmental, transport and traffic challenges, and help improve the city's air quality."
The additional financing will help establish five additional air quality monitoring stations, in addition to the 11monitoring stations supported by the project and a central air quality laboratory, said the release.
The financing will also help establish mobile air quality labs at all divisional offices for better monitoring and enforcement of air emissions from industrial sectors. Further, the project will continue support to operationalize the traffic signals and address mobility needs of people with disabilities.
The agreements were signed by additional secretary of Economic Relations Division Mahmuda Begum and Paralkar on behalf of the government and the World Bank respectively at the Economic Relations Division.
The credits from the World Bank's International Development Association, its grant to low-interest loan arm, have a 38-year term, including a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75 per cent.

 

$74m WB loan to improve e-govt services, air quality

The government yesterday signed two additional financing agreements totaling US$ 74 million with the World Bank to improve the countrys e-government services in its agencies as well as improve air quality of Dhaka city, reports UNB. The US$ 39 million additional financing to Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment and Governance (LICTGEG) Project will scale-up the e-Government infrastructure and services, through which all government ministries and agencies will be able to avail shared technology infrastructure for their systems and services. This will allow the public sector to benefit from higher efficiency, reduce risks in the use of IT and promote the e-Governance efforts in the years ahead. Bangladeshi citizens and businesses will benefit from improved reliability of public services, said a press release of the World Bank. These two financings will help Bangladesh improve lives and living standards of its population. The additional financing to LICTGEG project will help improve public sector administration and public services through the use of e-Government technologies and innovations, said Rajashree Paralkar, acting World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh. The additional financing to Clean Air and Sustainable Project will help address Dhakas environmental, transport and traffic challenges, and help improve the citys air quality. The additional financing will help establish five additional air quality monitoring stations, in addition to the 11monitoring stations supported by the project and a central air quality laboratory, said the release. The financing will also help establish mobile air quality labs at all divisional offices for better monitoring and enforcement of air emissions from industrial sectors. Further, the project will continue support to operationalize the traffic signals and address mobility needs of people with disabilities. The agreements were signed by additional secretary of Economic Relations Division Mahmuda Begum and Paralkar on behalf of the government and the World Bank respectively at the Economic Relations Division. The credits from the World Banks International Development Association, its grant to low-interest loan arm, have a 38-year term, including a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75 per cent.