Bangladesh making serious efforts to make workplace safer

Says ADB president

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao yesterday said Bangladesh has been making serious efforts to making workplace safer and workers-friendly, reports BSS.
"I think Bangladesh is making serious efforts to making workplace safer and workers-friendly," he said replying to a question during his opening press remarks on the first day of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of ADB (May 4-7) at the Pacifico Yokohama Conference Center. 
Recalling his previous visit to Bangladesh, the ADB President expressed his desire to visit Bangladesh again with his current portfolio. He said that during his previous visit, he visited the Bangabandhu Bridge and discussed the safety issues of the factories.
Lauding the current trend of GDP growth of Bangladesh over the last couple of years, Takehiko said, "It's also encouraging that the country is growing very fast at the pace of over 6 percent. Perhaps, India is the new growth champion, but Bangladesh is also achieving 7 percent growth rate which is also encouraging,"
Meanwhile, Finance and development ministers, central bank governors, other senior government officials, business executives, journalists, academics, and representatives from civil society, development organizations, and youth from the Asia and Pacific region started arriving at Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan for the 50th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Board of Governors. Over 5,000 delegates, including from North America and Europe, are expected to attend the meeting from 4 to 7 May.
Operating under the theme of "Building Together the Prosperity of Asia", this year's Annual Meeting will focus on the region's growing need for infrastructure as a critical sector towards achieving sustainable and inclusive development. Discussions on how to address urban challenges and strive for clean and climate-resilient development will be held.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced two new initiatives to improve and monitor the business environment for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Asia and the Pacific. 
The measures, which aim to strengthen the bankability and implementation of PPPs, were announced in Yokohama, Japan at the 50th Annual Meeting of ADB's Board of Governors, according to the ADB.
The first initiative announced yesterday is the Infrastructure Referee Program (IRP), which is the first program of its kind in the PPP market. Under the program, ADB will provide independent third party advice through qualified consultants to help public and private parties resolve disagreements that may arise over the life of a PPP project.
"Disagreements between public and private parties over risk allocation can arise during tendering, negotiation, construction, or operation, potentially triggering protracted delays, increased costs, and failure to deliver critical services," said Ryuichi Kaga, Head of ADB's Office of Public-Private Partnership (OPPP).
"ADB, through the IRP, will help resolve disagreements between public and private stakeholders and support successful delivery and implementation of PPP projects in Asia and the Pacific," Ryuichi Kaga added.
The second initiative, the PPP Monitor, is a new ADB publication that tracks the development of the PPP business environment across ADB member countries and provides insight for the public sector on structuring a sound environment for PPPs.
The PPP Monitor's first edition includes information on Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Future editions are expected to cover more countries and include a broader range of factors.
"We know from experience that there is substantial interest from both public and private sectors in PPPs, but they often lack essential information on the PPP 
environment," Kaga said. 

Bangladesh making serious efforts to make workplace safer

Says ADB president

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao yesterday said Bangladesh has been making serious efforts to making workplace safer and workers-friendly, reports BSS. I think Bangladesh is making serious efforts to making workplace safer and workers-friendly, he said replying to a question during his opening press remarks on the first day of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of ADB (May 4-7) at the Pacifico Yokohama Conference Center. Recalling his previous visit to Bangladesh, the ADB President expressed his desire to visit Bangladesh again with his current portfolio. He said that during his previous visit, he visited the Bangabandhu Bridge and discussed the safety issues of the factories. Lauding the current trend of GDP growth of Bangladesh over the last couple of years, Takehiko said, Its also encouraging that the country is growing very fast at the pace of over 6 percent. Perhaps, India is the new growth champion, but Bangladesh is also achieving 7 percent growth rate which is also encouraging, Meanwhile, Finance and development ministers, central bank governors, other senior government officials, business executives, journalists, academics, and representatives from civil society, development organizations, and youth from the Asia and Pacific region started arriving at Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan for the 50th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Banks (ADB) Board of Governors. Over 5,000 delegates, including from North America and Europe, are expected to attend the meeting from 4 to 7 May. Operating under the theme of Building Together the Prosperity of Asia, this years Annual Meeting will focus on the regions growing need for infrastructure as a critical sector towards achieving sustainable and inclusive development. Discussions on how to address urban challenges and strive for clean and climate-resilient development will be held. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced two new initiatives to improve and monitor the business environment for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Asia and the Pacific. The measures, which aim to strengthen the bankability and implementation of PPPs, were announced in Yokohama, Japan at the 50th Annual Meeting of ADBs Board of Governors, according to the ADB. The first initiative announced yesterday is the Infrastructure Referee Program (IRP), which is the first program of its kind in the PPP market. Under the program, ADB will provide independent third party advice through qualified consultants to help public and private parties resolve disagreements that may arise over the life of a PPP project. Disagreements between public and private parties over risk allocation can arise during tendering, negotiation, construction, or operation, potentially triggering protracted delays, increased costs, and failure to deliver critical services, said Ryuichi Kaga, Head of ADBs Office of Public-Private Partnership (OPPP). ADB, through the IRP, will help resolve disagreements between public and private stakeholders and support successful delivery and implementation of PPP projects in Asia and the Pacific, Ryuichi Kaga added. The second initiative, the PPP Monitor, is a new ADB publication that tracks the development of the PPP business environment across ADB member countries and provides insight for the public sector on structuring a sound environment for PPPs. The PPP Monitors first edition includes information on Bangladesh, the Peoples Republic of China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Future editions are expected to cover more countries and include a broader range of factors. We know from experience that there is substantial interest from both public and private sectors in PPPs, but they often lack essential information on the PPP environment, Kaga said.