BD for spl allocations from Dutch fund for infrastructure dev

Bangladesh will soon seek dedicated allocations from the ORIO fund of the Netherlands, a grant programme which helps in public infrastructure development in developing countries, sources said.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) will write to the Embassy of the Netherlands in Dhaka requesting it to make arrangement for setting aside a special allocation for Bangladesh from the Dutch fund every year.
The Dutch government established the fund in 2009, which supports public infrastructure development, contributes to the realisation of a functional public infrastructure that is relevant to development. Through this way, the ORIO fund aims to contribute to human development and private sector development.
The fund provides 50 per cent of a project cost as grant. The rest amount has to be borne by the government concerned.     
Currently, a 24.33-million-Euro Bangladeshi project called Development of Water Management Infrastructure in Bhola District is under consideration of the Netherlands government to finance it with the ORIO fund.
The governments from 50 countries can apply for funds from the ORIO grant. The projects worth between 2 million Euro and 60 million Euro are eligible to seek funds from the grant.
At a recent meeting at the ERD, officials from different ministries said the highest ceiling   of the grant amount offered by the ORIO authorities was inadequate for mid- and high-range projects. They requested the government of the Netherlands to raise the ceiling to make it more 'visible and robust'.
The meeting decided to request the Dutch government to keep a large quota from the total fund for Bangladesh, taking into consideration the extreme vulnerability of the country to climate change and the fact of attaining international recognition for the successes it has made in achieving the millennium development goals.     
The meeting observed that the selection process of the projects under the ORIO grants was very 'critical' and thus requested the ministries and departments concerned to submit flawless proposals.
Projects scored as being sufficient enough in relevance, effectiveness, impact on human development and/or private sector development, efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability are qualified for ORIO grants.