ADB to give $20m as budgetary support credit to Bangladesh

FE Team | Published: September 12, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to provide US$20 million as a budgetary support credit to help the government carry out post-flood rehabilitation activities, official sources said.
The sources said the Manila-based lender has given a green signal about providing the fund following the government's appeal for the budgetary support from the development partners working in Bangladesh.
Finance secretary Mohammad Tareq at a meeting of the local consultative group (LCG), a platform of the donors last month urged the donors to provide an additional $150 million to reduce fiscal deficit, which might be widened this year due to spending on flood relief and rehabilitation.
A senior Finance Ministry official said: "The proposed $20 million budgetary support from the ADB is likely to come along with its $200 million proposed fund for the water sector development project in Bangladesh."
"Earlier, the lending agency decided to provide $150 million project aid and $50 million budgetary support for the water sector development project. However, as there is no emergency flood assistance available with the ADB it now wants to add an additional amount of $20 million to the project fund for disbursement as the budgetary support towards the flood rehabilitation works," he said.
The official said the additional $20 million will be spent on rehabilitation of infrastructures like embankments and bridges damaged by the recent floods.
"A mission from the ADB is now in Dhaka for talks on the budgetary support credit. Negotiations for the loan will start shortly," the official informed the FE.
Meanwhile, the World Bank (WB) has expressed its intention to provide $75 million budgetary support credit to the government for carrying out post-flood rehabilitation activities.
The negotiations for the fund were completed on September 10 with the ERD in Dhaka and now the aid proposal will be placed before the WB Board in Washington for endorsement.