BD to receive 85.11m Euro from IDB for rural, urban housing

Bangladesh will receive 85.11 million Euro in loan from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for rural and urban housing.

A loan agreement was signed with the Jeddah-based lending agency on Tuesday. Finance Minister AMA Muhith and President of IDB Bandar MH Hajjar inked the agreement on the sidelines of the 43rd meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, according to a message received in Dhaka on Wednesday, reports BSS.

With the financial assistance from IDB, state-owned Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) will provide low-cost home financing to low-income rural people living outside the metropolis of Dhaka and Chattogram.

The IDB will lend the money to the HBFC through the Finance Ministry.

The loan will be disbursed under 'Pallima Scheme', a newly-launched scheme of the corporation.

The main objectives of the project are to ensure access of the rural and peri-urban people in housing finance and save the agriculture lands from being eroded for housing purposes.

Under the project, loans will be distributed to construct some 7,976 units both in rural areas, and peri-urban areas which will provide support to some 47,856 people.

According to BHBFC officials, loans will be distributed to construct 4,050 units in rural areas, 2,825 units in peri-urban areas and 1,101 units for non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs).

The approval was given at the 320th meeting of the Board of Executive Directors of the Jeddah-based development bank.

Before signing the deal, Muhith informed the IDB president of the current economic development of Bangladesh which has culminated to the country's graduation from LDC to a developing country and said it has been possible due to the political stability restored by the government and the prudent macroeconomic policies undertaken by it.

Muhith also informed the IDB president that Bangladesh has a dynamic private sector which is actually setting the trend and pace of the country's development.

The finance minister said the disbursements pace of IDB-funded projects are relatively slow. Establishment of a gateway office might be a catalyst to resolve the issue, he added.

In response, the IDB president said that the IDB is moving towards a massive decentralisation and the Country Gateway Offices and Regional Hubs will be delegated with more authority which is expected to accelerate the implementation activities.

In reply Muhith requested him to ensure the establishment of it by June 2018 so that it can be reflected in his budget speech for the upcoming fiscal year. The IDB president assured his all-out support in this regard.

During the meeting, Muhith drew attention of the IDB president to the state-sponsored nefarious atrocity committed by the Myanmar government against the Rohingya Muslims.

He said Bangladesh is at present hosting more than one million Rohingya refugees which has been exerting a heavy toll on the economy of the country.

Muhith sought support of the member countries and the Muslim world alongside the multilateral and UN agencies to ensure livelihood and safe repatriation of the Rohingyas.

The IDB president assured him of taking joint efforts to address the concern.