The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a total of US$ 94 million for protecting coastal towns from the ravages of natural disasters and climate change, reports BSS.
The government and ADB signed two separate agreements on Sunday for US$ 82 million in loans and US$ 12 million in grants in this connection.
Saifuddin Ahmed, Joint Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Kazuhiko Higuchi, Country Director, Bangladesh Resident Mission, ADB signed the agreements on behalf of their respective sides at a ceremony at ERD in city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
The assistance will support eight vulnerable secondary coastal towns to build up their climate resilience and disaster preparedness.
The towns are Amtali, Galachipa, Mathbaria, Pirojpur, Barguna, Bhola, Daulat Khan, and Kalapara, which have been selected on the basis of its needs, population size and density as well as level of past investments.
"The support will be in two stages -- for infrastructure required for climate resilience, and economic infrastructure; the pace of these supports will be aligned with the progress in various municipal planning and services," said Kazuhiko Higuchi.
The project takes a holistic and integrated approach to urban development. It will help improve drainage, water supply, sanitation, cyclone shelters, and other municipal infrastructure including emergency access roads and bridges, solid waste management, bus terminals, slum improvements, boat landings, and markets.
Coastal areas of the country, with a population of over 38 million, are heavily exposed to cyclones, storm surges, and sea level rises, which are expected to become more frequent and extreme with the onset of climate change.
Of the US$ 82 million ADB loan, US$ 52 million is from the concessional Asian Development Fund (ADF) resources while the rest US$ 30 million comes from the ADB Strategic Climate Fund (SCF).
The ADF loan will have a 25-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, and an interest rate of 2.0 per cent per annum during the grace period and thereafter. The ADB-SCF loan will have a 40-year term, including a grace period of 10 years and an annual service charge of 0.10 per cent.
The ADB-SCF is also providing US$ 10.4 million in grant for the project. The Sanitation Financing Partnership Trust Fund (the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) under the Water Financing Partnership Facility will provide another grant equivalent to US$ 1.6 million.
The government will provide an amount equivalent to US$ 23.1 million for the project. The project is estimated to cost a total of US$ 117.1 million, and scheduled to be completed by 2020.
The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MLGRDC) acting through its Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) will be the executing agencies for the project.
