$87m ADB loans for town dev
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
FE Report
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Bangladesh Tuesday signed a loan agreement of $87 million to improve the basic services and infrastructure in municipal towns of Bangladesh.
Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary for Economic Relations Division (ERD) signed for the government while Paul J Heytens, Country Director of ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission, signed the loan agreement on behalf of ADB at a ceremony at Economic Relations Divisions (ERD), at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka.
As many as 3.8 million people are expected to be benefited from the Second Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) Project which will expand access to and delivery of water, sanitation, solid waste management and other urban services in an initial 35 targeted municipal towns, including slum areas.
More towns will be included. The project expects increases in income, employment, and land values in all participating towns by 2015, with 60 per cent of residents in targeted slums to have access to improved services.
"The project will help improve service delivery and urban infrastructure through implementation of a proper incentive mechanism, putting in place a performance-based fund allocations system, increased citizen participation in urban planning and implementation, and adoption of a participatory approach to ensure transparency and accountability of the town officials and elected leaders," said ADB's country director Paul Heytens.
The loan, sourced from ADB's Special Funds, will be released in phases. The fund disbursements to each town are performance based and are linked to governance reform and improvement in urban services. The project draws on lessons from the ongoing Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) Project which found that improvements to urban infrastructure and services are more effective and lasting when they are tied to governance reforms.
Services in urban areas currently fall well short of public requirements. Water, sewerage and solid waste collection are either minimal or non-existent and management is weak with little citizen participation, especially from women and the poor. There is little or no planning for future developments. Bangladesh's urban dwellers are expected to double by 2035, making up 40 per cent of the country's total population.
By linking financial help to governance change, ADB will be providing an incentive for town leaders to reform their governance procedures and engage people who were previously excluded from the decision-making process. The amount of funds to be allocated to each town will depend on progress made on reforms.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Bangladesh Tuesday signed a loan agreement of $87 million to improve the basic services and infrastructure in municipal towns of Bangladesh.
Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary for Economic Relations Division (ERD) signed for the government while Paul J Heytens, Country Director of ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission, signed the loan agreement on behalf of ADB at a ceremony at Economic Relations Divisions (ERD), at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka.
As many as 3.8 million people are expected to be benefited from the Second Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) Project which will expand access to and delivery of water, sanitation, solid waste management and other urban services in an initial 35 targeted municipal towns, including slum areas.
More towns will be included. The project expects increases in income, employment, and land values in all participating towns by 2015, with 60 per cent of residents in targeted slums to have access to improved services.
"The project will help improve service delivery and urban infrastructure through implementation of a proper incentive mechanism, putting in place a performance-based fund allocations system, increased citizen participation in urban planning and implementation, and adoption of a participatory approach to ensure transparency and accountability of the town officials and elected leaders," said ADB's country director Paul Heytens.
The loan, sourced from ADB's Special Funds, will be released in phases. The fund disbursements to each town are performance based and are linked to governance reform and improvement in urban services. The project draws on lessons from the ongoing Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) Project which found that improvements to urban infrastructure and services are more effective and lasting when they are tied to governance reforms.
Services in urban areas currently fall well short of public requirements. Water, sewerage and solid waste collection are either minimal or non-existent and management is weak with little citizen participation, especially from women and the poor. There is little or no planning for future developments. Bangladesh's urban dwellers are expected to double by 2035, making up 40 per cent of the country's total population.
By linking financial help to governance change, ADB will be providing an incentive for town leaders to reform their governance procedures and engage people who were previously excluded from the decision-making process. The amount of funds to be allocated to each town will depend on progress made on reforms.