News Desk :
The World Bank on Tuesday cleared its way to provide $358 million to Bangladesh for improving road safety and reduce fatalities and injuries from road accidents in selected high-risk highways and district roads of the country.
The international lender’s ‘Road Safety Project’ would help Bangladesh achieve the Sustainable Development Goal on road safety by 2030, reports BSS.
In two national highways–N4 (Gazipur-Elenga) and N6 (Natore to Nawabganj)—the project will pilot comprehensive road safety measures, including improved engineering designs, signing and marking, pedestrian facilities, speed enforcement and emergency care.
These measures would help reduce deaths caused by road accidents by more than 30 per cent on these two highways, said a press release.
‘Road accidents are the leading cause of permanent disability, and the fourth leading cause for children’s death. They disproportionately affect poor families. For Bangladesh, improving road safety is a critical economic and development priority’, said Mercy Tembon, World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
‘This is the first dedicated road safety project in South Asia supported by the World Bank. It will help Bangladesh develop a comprehensive program to improve road safety management and minimise tragic losses of human lives’, she added.
The credit would be from the World Bank’s ‘International Development Association’, which provides concessional financing, has a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period.
Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling over $14.5 billion.
The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh and has committed $35 billion in interest-free grants and concessional credits to the country since its
The costs related to traffic crashes can be as high as 5.1 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Unsafe and under-invested road infrastructure was one of the key factors for road crashes in Bangladesh.
With a sharp increase in the number of vehicles including two-wheelers, safety inspections for the registered vehicles remain inadequate. The WB project would support development of a long-term national program and a ‘National Road Safety Strategic Action Plan’ to improve road safety through stronger coordination among ministries and strengthening the institutional framework.
The project would also undertake road safety pilots in selected urban areas and district roads. It would help modernise the capacity of the traffic police and highway patrol to manage speeding vehicles and prevent risky road user behavior through instilling a combination of automated enforcement systems, such as CCTV’s, electronic messaging and physical measures to slow down traffic speed, including patrol vehicles and crash scene clearing equipment.
It would improve post-crash care, which is critical in saving lives. In 2016, about two-thirds of the road crash victims died on the way to a hospital. It would set up an ambulance service through a toll-free number and upgraded emergency care services in selected district hospitals, and upazila health complexes along the two national highway corridors.
It would also provide training to medical providers on trauma care and help develop standards, protocols, and operational policies for emergency medical care services.
The project would create crash database and implement integrated traffic management and incident detection systems. ICT systems would support the integration of existing information systems and databases of vehicle registration, driver licensing and payments. The project would also undertake campaigns to create road safety awareness and behavioral change.
‘Investment in road safety programs will be fruitful when they are matched with proper institutional setup, legislative framework, and efficient monitoring systems’, said Dipan Bose, World Bank senior transport specialist and task team leader of the project.
‘With three related ministries– road transport and bridges, health and home affairs– joining together, this project would be an example of the Bangladesh government’s commitment to stronger road safety management’, added Dipan.
The project would establish a training center for Bangladesh police to strengthen capacity on modern road safety enforcement. It would also develop a comprehensive training program for commercial drivers.
