Manila, Philippines (BBN)- Bangladesh, supported by a $120 million equivalent Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan, is planning an overhaul of urban planning and infrastructure in two of its biggest city regions where services have struggled to keep up with booming populations.
The ADB Board of Directors approved the loan for the Bangladesh City Region Development Project, which will target energy-efficient, environmentally friendly urban services, more coordinated regional development planning, and stronger management capacity for municipalities in the sprawling city regions of Dhaka and Khulna, which include surrounding secondary towns.
“The goal is to increase the growth potential and environmental sustainability of these two city regions,” Masayuki Tachiiri, Urban Economist in ADB’s South Asia Department, said in a statement on Thursday.
Bangladesh’s cities have been growing at breakneck pace with the urban population expected to double to 74 million by 2035.
The loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources covers about 71 percent of the total project cost of $170 million. It has a 32-year tenor, with an 8-year grace period carrying an annual interest charge of 1 percent, which rises to 1.5 percent for the balance of the term. The Bangladesh government will provide counterpart support of $50 million.
The technical assistance will include a $675,000 grant from ADB’s concessional Technical Assistance Special Fund, while ADB will also administer a grant of $1.5 million from the Government of Japan-established, Asian Clean Energy Fund, held under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.
The Local Government Engineering Department is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in December 2016.
BBN/SSR/AD-11Nov10-6:57 pm (BST)
