World Bank approves $1.25B loan for greener Bangladesh

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - The World Bank approved $1.25 billion in financing for three projects to help Bangladesh achieve greener and more resilient development.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the loan in Washington on Thursday and discussed a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Bangladesh (2023-2027), according to a statement by the UN leader's Dhaka office.

Of the loan, a $500 million program on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship, and Resilience (PARTNER) project will help promote diversification, food safety, entrepreneurship, and climate resilience in the agri-food systems, it said.

Another $500 million First Green and Climate Resilient Development Credit under the loan will help the country’s transition to green and climate-resilient development.

And, the $250 million Sustainable Microenterprise and Resilient Transformation (SMART) project will help transform the micro-enterprise sector into a more dynamic, less-polluting, resource-efficient, and climate-resilient growth sector, according to the statement.

With these three projects approved, the World Bank’s total ongoing program in Bangladesh stands at $16.3 billion.

The CPF will support Bangladesh’s goal to achieve upper-middle-income country status by 2031 by helping the country address key barriers to higher and sustainable growth, said the global lender.

“This CPF will support the government’s reform programs to deliver jobs and support inclusion and resilience,” said Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, in the statement.

“Bangladesh has an ambitious goal – to achieve upper middle-income status within a short period and that too in the face of the daunting challenges of climate change," said Junaid Kamal Ahmad, the bank’s official.

“Access to private capital and global financial markets will increasingly be needed to achieve this goal,” Ahmad added.