The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has evinced interest to provide at least USD 6 billion support for regional connectivity, particularly for road transport and railway network in Bangladesh, officials said.
ERD joint secretary (ADB wing) Saifuddin Ahmed told the Independent that ADB was interested in hiking support for regional connectivity in South Asia to boost trade and commerce.
The support will come under the country partnership programme for the next three years from 2016 to 2018. Under this programme, ADB will give priority to enhancement of skills as well as the quality and delivery of secondary education, energy efficiency and supply expansion, and renewable energy.
As part of the country mission, a meeting between the ERD and ADB is scheduled to be held on June 22.
Since 2010, the ADB-assisted South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme has been supporting the regional transport connectivity agenda of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal by helping them to implement priority projects identified under the SAARC and BIMSTEC frameworks.
ADB has also helped in the revival of the SASEC Trade Facilitation and Transport Working Group (TFTWG) to plan, prepare, and monitor progress of priority projects on sub-regional transport.
ADB will provide support to implement five projects under SASEC connectivity. It will provide support to implement Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar new railway link (100 km) Phase-I in 2016 and railway sector investment programme. In 2017, the Manila-based lender will give support for SASEC road connectivity project II—Hatirkamrul –Rangpur-Burimari four-lane and additional financing for cost overrun of SASEC roads. In 2016, it will provide loan for second phase of Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar new railway link. In 2018, ADB will provide loan for the Dhaka-Chittagong dual gauging (230 Km), including Dhirasram ICD, access to the Chittagong Port, and a new workshop in Chittagong.
For energy sector development, ADB will provide against 12 projects, including “natural gas development and distribution project”; “rural hydropower system project (50 MW, composed by distributed PV small wind, small hydro, biomass)”; “second power system expansion and efficiency improvement programme”; and “grid connected solar PV plants 200 MWp, 100 MWp PV plant in Sonargaji-BPDB, 100 MWp PV plant Feni NWPGCL”.

Besides, the ADB would provide support for six projects in the education sector, six projects in the finance sector, and eight projects in the agriculture, natural resources and rural development sector.