$1.03b WB fund for BD, Nepal to boost regional trade

The World Bank (WB) will provide Bangladesh with US$ $753.45 million as credit financing to help improve regional trade by reducing trade and transport costs and transit time along the regional corridors.
The amount is a part of the total $1.03 billion worth of financing that the global lender approved for facilitating regional trade in Bangladesh and Nepal, said a press release issued by the Washington-based WB on June 28, 2022.
The funding will be available for the Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) Programme Phase 1, which aims to help the respective governments address the key barriers to regional trade ? manual and paper-based trade processes, inadequate transport and trade infrastructure, and restrictive trade and transport regulations and processes, it said.
The Phase 1 of the programme is to help replace lengthy manual and paper-based trade processes with digitised automated solutions in Bangladesh and Nepal.
The automation will enable faster border crossing times and install electronic tracking of truck entry and exit, electronic queuing, and smart parking, the WB release said, adding the programme would also help improve selected road corridors and upgrade key landports and custom infrastructure, while ensuring green and climate-resilient construction.
It also aims to facilitate the integration of landlocked Nepal and Bhutan with the gateway countries of Bangladesh and India, according to the press release.
Of the total amount, the $753.45 million ACCESS Project in Bangladesh aims to upgrade the 43 km two-lane Sylhet-Charkai-Sheola road to a climate-resilient four-lane road, connecting the Sheola Land Port with the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway.
The project is expected to cut down travel time by 30 per cent, the WB said, adding the project will also support digital systems, infrastructure, and more streamlined processes at Benapole, Bhomra, and Burimari land ports, the three largest land ports in Bangladesh handling approximately 80 per cent of land-based trade.
It will also support the modernization of the Chattogram customs house which handles 90 per cent of all import/export declarations in Bangladesh, it added.
The other $275 million ACCESS Project in Nepal will upgrade the 69 km two-lane Butwal-Gorusinghe-Chanauta road, along the East-West Highway, to a climate-resilient four-lane highway, according to the WB.
Apart from cutting down the travel time, the project is expected to providing better access to India's western seaports, it mentioned.
The project is to construct market areas along the highway with dedicated spaces for women entrepreneurs and traders to ensure that women can benefit from the enhanced economic opportunities.
It will also support digital systems and capacity building to enhance trade and customs processes in particular at Birgunj and Bhairahawa border points, it added.
"Regional trade offers enormous untapped potential for the countries of South Asia. Today, regional trade accounts for only 5 per cent of South Asia's total trade, while in East Asia it accounts for 50 per cent," it said, quoting World Bank Vice President for South Asia Hartwig Schafer.
Hartwig Schafer was also quoted as saying: "South Asia can boost economic growth significantly and create opportunities for millions of people by increasing regional trade and connectivity."
"While the trade between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal grew six times from 2015 to 2019, the unexploited potential for regional trade is estimated at 93 per cent for Bangladesh," it said, quoting WB Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon.
The project will help Bangladesh improve regional trade and transport and automation of processes will build resilience to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, Tembon said.
The World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka Faris Hadad-Zervos was also quoted as saying: "Nepal has large untapped potential for regional trade and exports.
According to Faris Hadad-Zervos the project will help unlock Nepal's economic potential through better connectivity and trade, both between the provinces as well as regionally among Nepal and other countries to support a green, resilient, and inclusive development.
"It is highly critical to ensure trade growth, long-term sustainability and resilience of investments, while minimizing degradations on the ecosystems along the Nepal's road network, which carries 90 percent of passengers and goods movement," World Bank Task Team Leader of the Nepal Project and co-Task Team Leader of the program Oceane Keou was quoted as saying.
The programme aims to help advance Bangladesh's and Nepal's preparedness and subsequent implementation of the Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA). In the second phase, the program will include Bhutan.
"A key focus of the ACCESS program is to support solutions that can most effectively reduce dwell times at trade gateways, which is vital to lowering trade costs. This entails greater border cooperation and coordination within and between countries, cutting down the physical inspection of goods, and simplifying regulations and processes," the WB Task Team Leader of the program Erik Nora was quoted as saying.

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