The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Bangladesh have signed agreements for 260 million U.S. dollars in loans to help sustain and increase infrastructure investments in Bangladesh, particularly in financing public-private partnership (PPP) projects as well as renewable energy interventions.
Kazi Shofiqul Azam, secretary of Bangladesh's Economic Relations Division, and Manmohan Parkash, country director of ADB, signed the loan agreements on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB, respectively, at a ceremony in Dhaka on Sunday (Nov 19).
The assistance forms the first tranche of 526 million U.S. dollars multitranche ADB loans for the Third Public-Private Infrastructure Development Facility (PPIDF 3).
The support consists of a 500 million U.S. dollars market-based loan to finance medium and large-scale PPP infrastructure projects and a 26 million U.S. dollars concessional loan to finance small and medium-sized renewable energy and energy efficiency facilities, primarily in the rural areas of the country.
"The PPIDF 3 seeks to increase investments in infrastructure, including renewable energy and energy efficiency facilities, aligned with Bangladesh's Seventh Five Year Plan, FY2016FY2020," said Manmohan Parkash.
"It will also help leverage private sector investments in PPP projects to reduce pressure on direct financing from the public budget to meet the growth target."
The program will also be supported by a 750,000 U.S. dollars technical assistance to further strengthen the capacity of the IDCOL, a state-owned enterprise.
- Source: Agency
