$100m AIIB loan for water supply scheme
Sunday, 14 July 2019
FE Report
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a $100-million loan for Bangladesh to accelerate its effort to deliver improved water supply and sanitation services to underserved communities.
The Bangladesh Municipal Water Supply and Sanitation project will support water, sanitation and drainage infrastructure in 30 municipalities where households continue to rely on shallow-tube wells.
Once done, 600,000 people are expected to be connected to new piped water supply systems and benefit from improved sanitation services, said an AIIB statement issued from Luxembourg on Saturday.
Women and girls, often responsible for water collection, are expected to directly benefit from the project.
"AIIB continues to ensure its projects are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable in a balanced and integrated manner," said AIIB director general Supee Teravaninthorn.
This project is expected to directly contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which is to ensure access to water and sanitation for all."
Key components of the project also include capacity building at the national and local levels and project implementation and management support.
"AIIB's engagement is expected to enhance the quality of environmental management and the financial sustainability of the municipalities…," said AIIB vice-president and chief investment officer DJ Pandian.
"The experience of implementing this project will strengthen AIIB's capacity to finance broad-based water supply and sanitation projects, which are in high demand in other areas of the region."
The project, co-financed with the World Bank, is AIIB's fifth investment in Bangladesh, all being aligned with the country's top priority development plans and SDGs.
AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia.
Headquartered in Beijing, the bank began operations in January 2016 and has now grown to 97 approved members worldwide.
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