DHAKA, Dec 22, 2024 (BSS) -Bangladesh and the World Bank (WB) signed two 
financing agreements totaling US$900 million today to help the country 
achieve environment sustainability, climate resiliency, including in urban 
infrastructure and inclusive growth.
 
"Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, 
impacting the people, whether they live in rural areas or in cities," said 
Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said a 
press release. 
 
He said, "These two financings will Bangladesh achieve green growth and build 
climate resiliency, across the sectors, including urban infrastructure. The 
World Bank remains a committed partner to help Bangladesh achieve its 
development aspirations, while improving resiliency to climate change."
 
The $500 million Second Bangladesh Green and Climate Resilient Development 
Credit will support policies to help the country's transition to green and 
climate-resilient development. The financing supports policy reforms to 
improve public planning and financing and implementation for green and 
climate-resilient interventions at local and national levels and promote 
clean and resource-efficient production and services in key sectors. 
 
The financing supports policies to reduce air pollution, improve 
environmental enforcement, expand access to carbon markets, enhance 
sustainable water and sanitation services, improve the efficiency of the 
Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, and advance a climate-resilient and sustainable 
environment. It also supports sustainable public procurement incorporating 
environmental and social considerations. It will further help improve the 
energy efficiency of buildings and appliances and incentivize the 
construction sector to become greener.
 
The $400 million Resilient Urban And Territorial Development Project will 
help improve climate-resilient and gender-responsive urban infrastructure and 
urban management capacities in seven city clusters along the economic 
corridor covering over 950 kilometers of the highway from Cox Bazaar in the 
south to Panchagarh in north of Bangladesh. The project will benefit about 17 
million people living in these selected urban areas.
 
The project prioritizes coordinated investment in climate-resilient 
infrastructure and planning across these secondary cities. It will provide 
investments to support the development of strategically important corridors 
and city clusters and create jobs. The infrastructure designs will 
incorporate the needs of female users and green building features including 
rainwater harvesting. Selected municipalities and city corporations will 
receive subgrants for investing in climate-resilient and gender responsive 
infrastructure. It will construct over 300 kilometers of footpaths, 10 
regional bus terminals, 10 kitchen markets, 10 supermarkets, 10 parks, 10 
community centers, 20 public toilets, 880 kilometers of urban roads, and, 
2000 meters of bridges/culverts among others. 
 
The agreements for the Second Bangladesh Green and Climate Resilient 
Development Credit and the Resilient Urban And Territorial Development 
Project were signed by respectively Mr. Shahriar Siddiky, Secretary, and Mr 
Farid Aziz, Additional Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Government of 
Bangladesh and Abdoulaye Seck on behalf of Bangladesh and the World Bank, 
respectively. 
 
The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh 
following its independence. Since then, the World Bank has committed more 
than $45 billion in International Development Association (IDA) financing in 
the form of grants, interest-free loans, and concessional credits to help the 
country address its development priorities. In recent years, Bangladesh has 
been among the largest recipients of the World Bank's interest-free credits.