UNB, Dhaka :
The World Bank is going to provide 775 million US dollars for the implementation of two development projects-one for the improvement of primary education and another for the construction of multipurpose disaster shelters in the country’s coastal belt.
The government and the World Bank Board will sign two financing agreements in this regard-one worth USD 400 million as additional financing for the Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-3) and another USD 375 million for the Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) – today and tomorrow respectively.
ERD Senior Secretary Md Mejbahuddin and WB country director Johannes Zutt are expected to sign the two deals on behalf of their respective sides.
Talking to UNB, an ERD official said the PEDP-3 has been able to constantly improve primary education benefiting some 19.5 million primary-level school-going children with quality learning and completing their primary school cycle.
He said, the project also goes on with the introduction of pre-primary education, especially in disadvantaged areas, improving school facilities and infrastructure. PEDP-3 helped boost the number of primary schools receiving textbooks within the first month of the school curriculum year to 93 percent in 2013 from 32 percent in 2010.
The project was originally approved in August 2011 with a total outlay of Tk 22,196 crore. But its cost got reduced by Tk 4,042 crore in its first revision in a recently held Ecnec meeting since two components-school feeding and stipend programmes-have been left out from the project.
Two separate projects have already been carried out for these two programmes with Tk 3,351 crore for stipend and Tk 1,957 crore for school feeding.
Out of the overall cost of Tk 18,153.88 crore for PEDP-3, the government will provide Tk 13,962.14 crore while the rest of Tk 4,191.74 crore will come as project assistance from ADB, IDA, EU, DFID, SIDA, CIDA, JICA, Unicef, GPE and AUSAID. The timeframe for completion of the PEDP-3, being implemented by the Department of Primary Education, has been extended till December 2017.
The official said the Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) aims to reduce the vulnerability to natural disaster of some 14 million coastal populations in 9 districts. Multipurpose disaster centers are identified as high priority for the disaster-prone coastal districts to build long-term disaster resilience.
Under the project, 552 new multipurpose disaster shelters will be constructed, while 450 existing shelters along with connecting roads and communication networks will be renovated for easy accessibility to nine coastal districts-Barisal, Bhola, Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.
The MDSP will introduce the first-ever steel shelter design in Bangladesh for quality construction and longevity.
The World Bank is going to provide 775 million US dollars for the implementation of two development projects-one for the improvement of primary education and another for the construction of multipurpose disaster shelters in the country’s coastal belt.
The government and the World Bank Board will sign two financing agreements in this regard-one worth USD 400 million as additional financing for the Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-3) and another USD 375 million for the Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) – today and tomorrow respectively.
ERD Senior Secretary Md Mejbahuddin and WB country director Johannes Zutt are expected to sign the two deals on behalf of their respective sides.
Talking to UNB, an ERD official said the PEDP-3 has been able to constantly improve primary education benefiting some 19.5 million primary-level school-going children with quality learning and completing their primary school cycle.
He said, the project also goes on with the introduction of pre-primary education, especially in disadvantaged areas, improving school facilities and infrastructure. PEDP-3 helped boost the number of primary schools receiving textbooks within the first month of the school curriculum year to 93 percent in 2013 from 32 percent in 2010.
The project was originally approved in August 2011 with a total outlay of Tk 22,196 crore. But its cost got reduced by Tk 4,042 crore in its first revision in a recently held Ecnec meeting since two components-school feeding and stipend programmes-have been left out from the project.
Two separate projects have already been carried out for these two programmes with Tk 3,351 crore for stipend and Tk 1,957 crore for school feeding.
Out of the overall cost of Tk 18,153.88 crore for PEDP-3, the government will provide Tk 13,962.14 crore while the rest of Tk 4,191.74 crore will come as project assistance from ADB, IDA, EU, DFID, SIDA, CIDA, JICA, Unicef, GPE and AUSAID. The timeframe for completion of the PEDP-3, being implemented by the Department of Primary Education, has been extended till December 2017.
The official said the Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) aims to reduce the vulnerability to natural disaster of some 14 million coastal populations in 9 districts. Multipurpose disaster centers are identified as high priority for the disaster-prone coastal districts to build long-term disaster resilience.
Under the project, 552 new multipurpose disaster shelters will be constructed, while 450 existing shelters along with connecting roads and communication networks will be renovated for easy accessibility to nine coastal districts-Barisal, Bhola, Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.
The MDSP will introduce the first-ever steel shelter design in Bangladesh for quality construction and longevity.
