Bangladesh has sought USD 1.8 billion assistance from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) under its second Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS), according to sources at the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
The ERD has already sent a list of 24 projects for adopting under the upcoming MCPS, which will be implemented between 2017 and 2019. ERD officials said a five-member mission, led by Mohammad Al Sati, a senior official of IDB, is coming to Dhaka as part of finalisation of MCPS on the financial support.
The IDB is expected to provide USD 1.8 billion through the government channel between 2017 and 2019, said a senior ERD official.
The ERD officials told The Independent that the aim of the mission is to discuss about the proposed projects with ministries concerned during the visit. They added that the mission will also discuss about the ongoing project and evaluate them.
Commenting on the upcoming priority, the officials said they have submitted the list project for power,
rural development, agriculture, health, and a good number of small projects for industrial ministries. Besides,
the IDB is interested in providing support for the development of Narayanganj City Corporation, they added.
It will help the private sector's export and import bills, implement public private partnership (PPP) projects, and lend funds to private enterprises for developing the country's infrastructure. Also, the Jeddah-based agency provides nearly USD 1 billion to USD 2 billion from its hard loan window—the Islamic Trade Financing Corporation—for import of oil.
The ERD officials said the IDB funds will come in the form of mixed credit, as some of the loans will be soft in nature and others relatively hard.
At this moment, Bangladesh is implementing a total of 13 projects involving USD 873.93 million under the assistance of IDB.
The ERD official said that the interest rate of IDB is less than 2 per cent, with a seven-year grace period.