KOICA, ERD sign $11.7m deal

FE Team | Published: December 30, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of Bangladesh have signed Records of Discussions (RD) for US$11.7 million grant assistances for two separate projects.
Resident Representative of KOICA Bangladesh Office Kim Bok-Hee, Additional Secretary of the ERD Mohammad Asif-uz-Zaman, Joint Chief (Planning) of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Niru Shamsun Nahar, Joint Secretary of ICT Division of Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Shyama Prasad Bepari singed the agreements on behalf of their respective sides in the city on Monday, said a press release.
Among others, South Korean Ambassador in Bangladesh Lee Yun-young and Senior Secretary of the ERD Mohammad Mejbahuddin were present at the deal signing ceremony.
As part of KOICA's continuous support in the health sector, KOICA will provide $8.50 million grant assistance for the Eye Health Promotion and Prevention of Blindness in cooperation with Director General of Health Services (DGHS).
The project aims to reduce avoidable blindness in the country by providing accessible and sustainable eye care services with proper quality control to the population in accordance with the National Eye Care Plan of the government through the utilisation of the Korea-Bangladesh Friendship Hospital (KBFH) at Savar.
Three vision centres at Savar, Dhamrai Upazila Health Complex (UHC) and Dhaka Export Promotion Zone (EPZ) Hospital also will be established under the project.
According to the second deal, the KOICA will contribute $3.2 million for developing the e-Government Master plan including the detailed plan of organisational structures, budgets and schedules in order to achieve "The Vision 2021" goal of the government in cooperation with Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Division.
The main objective of the project is to enhance the capacity building of the government's officials, modernise the working environment.
It will also implement a pilot project to catalysing the realisation of Bangladesh's e-Government master plan.
In addition, the KOICA will dispatch Korean experts to Bangladesh to share their experiences and provide proper guidance to improve projects relevant persons' skills and invite them in Korea to receive training on project relevant activities.