DHAKA, Nov 18, 2024 (BSS) – Finance adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today stressed on reducing the rural-urban gap in a bid to reduce the tendency of people’s movement towards cities and metropolis.

“Take initiatives to ensure balanced development of the country by increasing the civic facilities in the villages like the cities and towns,” he urged the authorities concerned.

The finance adviser said this while addressing the opening ceremony and startup workshop of Rural and Peri-Urban Housing Finance Project, 2nd Phase of the Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) held at a hotel in the capital today.

The adviser thanked the BHBFC and Islamic development Bank (IsDB) authorities for taking Shariah-compliant investment initiatives in building houses in the rural and peri-urban areas.

He also expressed the hope that other institutions would also take initiatives like the BHBFC.

This project is an Islamic Shariah-based housing investment one of the BHBFC with funding from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). The first phase of the project was completed in October, 2022 after its launching back in the fiscal year 2018-19.

With the opening ceremony, the second phase of the project started. The BHBFC received a financial assistance of 270.57 million Euros equivalent to Taka 3,171 crore for this project under an agreement signed between the government of Bangladesh and IsDB at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on April 29 this year under the supervision of the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance.

Of the total, an amount equivalent to 67 million Euros has already been released in favour of BHBFC. The 2nd phase of the five-year BHBFC project will be completed in the fiscal year 2028-29.

Former Cabinet Secretary and Chairman of BHBFC Board of Directors ASM Abdul Halim presided over the event while Regional Manager of IsDB Muhammad Nasir Bin Sulaiman, Finance Division Secretary Dr. Khairuzzaman Mozumder, Secretary of Financial Institutions Division Nazma Mobarek and Secretary of Economic Relations Division Shahriar Kader Siddiky were present as special guests.

Managing Director of BHBFC Md Abdul Mannan gave the welcome address and expressed his gratitude to the Finance Division, Financial Institutions Division, ERD, Bangladesh Bank and IsDB authorities for their overall cooperation.

BHBFC Shariah Supervisory Committee President Prof. Dr. Md. Abdus Samad, Economic Infrastructure and Operations Team Leader of IsDB Abu Sandy Bokairi and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh Bank and BHBFC were present, among others, on the occasion.

All field level managers of BHBFC participated in the inaugural function and workshop.