The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide US$350 million assistance to Bangladesh for Rohingya rehabilitation, education, and power sector development.
The Manila-based lender will provide $100 million grant for Rohingya rehabilitation, 225 million for secondary education development and $25.442 million for solar power development.
The bank signed three separate deals with the government on Thursday in a bid to provide the $350.44 million assistance.
Kazi Shofiqul Azam, Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Manmohan Parkash, Country Director of the ADB in Bangladesh signed the agreement at a ceremony in Dhaka.
Under the $100 million grant, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) will construct roads, the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) will work to ensure safe water and sanitation, the Roads and Highways Department will ensure connectivity and the Rural Electrification Board will provide electricity in Cox’s Bazar areas where the Burmese people Rohingya are now stranded.
Under the $225 million loan from ADB, the Ministry of Education will overhaul secondary education system in Bangladesh and boosting education quality, access, and relevance.
The assistance is the third and final tranche of the $500 million ADB loan for the $17.30 billion Secondary Education Sector Investment Program (SESIP).
Under the $25.44 million grant, the ADB will support Bangladesh to spur off-grid solar photovoltaic (SPV) pumping for agricultural irrigation.
The grant will further support activities for promoting SPV water pumping systems under the ADB-financed Power System Efficiency Improvement Project.
kabirhumayan10@gmail.com