The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will continue to financial support to Bangladesh for its efforts to address infrastructure needs.
Visiting ADB President Takehiko Nakao said this on Sunday having meetings with President Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Finance Minister Abul Maal A Muhith.
This is Nakao’s first visit to Bangladesh after he took charge of ADB in early 2013.
During the meetings the ADB chief promised to continue financial assistance to Bangladesh and discussed the continuation of the four-decade partnership between Bangladesh and ADB.
Takehiko Nakao at a meeting with the Finance Minister AMA Muhith said that the yearly $ 1.0 billion ADB assistance to Bangladesh would continue.
The ADB chief said since they had not financed in the construction of Padma bridge, there was no scope of providing technical assistance in the project. Earlier, Muhith had sought the ADB’s technical assistance previously in spite of the ADB pulling out of the $2.9 billion project after Bangladesh asked the World Bank not to finance the project anymore.
Praising Bangladesh for its strong economic growth in recent years, and achievements in poverty reduction and other areas of social development, Nakao urged more efforts to boost infrastructure, skills, and the business climate as it targets middle-income status.
The Bangladesh economy grew by 6.0 per cent in fiscal year 2012-2013. According to preliminary official estimates, GDP grew by 6.1 per cent in fiscal year 2013-2014. The country has also experienced a steep fall in poverty levels from 56.7 per cent in 1991 to 31.5 per cent in 2010 – a drop of more than 25 percentage points in two decades.
President Nakao told officials ADB will continue to assist Bangladesh’s efforts to address infrastructure needs, including power, gas, roads, railways and urban services; and secondary education and vocational training.
ADB will also strengthen support to regional connectivity and energy trade, while continuing to support investments to enhance agriculture and rural productivity for higher income and more jobs.
President Nakao stressed the importance of strengthened investment in infrastructure. To do that, the government must increase tax revenues as a ratio to GDP, expand the use of public-private partnerships, and improve procedures of project approvals and their implementation.
He mentioned, “ADB is also trying to improve its own internal process to accelerate procurement and project management, as well as delegating more authority to resident missions including the one in Dhaka.”
The ADB President today (Monday) will visit the 150-megawatt Sirajganj Power Plant, the Bangabandhu (Jamuna) Bridge, and an Islamic based school,Alukdia Islamia Senior Madrasah, all projects supported by ADB.
The Sirajganj Power Plant in northern Bangladesh is part of a $405 million project to generate and distribute reliable electricity to Dhaka and the surrounding areas and supports the government’s power sector reforms. The 4.8-kilometer-long Bangabandhu (Jamuna) Bridge connects eastern and western parts of Bangladesh and was built with the help of a $200 million ADB cofinancing loan.
The Alukdia Islamia Senior Madrasah, also in Sirajganj, benefitted from ADB support under an $85 million project to help improve the quality of teachers in Bangladesh. While traveling by train to the project sites, President Nakao witnessed ongoing work of the Tongi-Bhairab Bazar Double Line Project under the ADB-assisted Railway Sector Investment Program.
