The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Bangladesh signed a loan agreement for $826.5 million for several strategic projects including developing vaccine, international road corridor upgradation, developing technology and sanitation on Tuesday.
Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Secretary, Economic Relations Division and Edimon Ginting, ADB Country Director for Bangladesh signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides at a ceremony at ERD office in Dhaka, says a press release.
The loan agreement includes a segment of $336.5 million to establish domestic vaccine, therapeutics, and diagnostics manufacturing capacity and strengthen the national regulator to ensure vaccine supply security in Bangladesh.
Another loan for $300 million will help the Bangladesh government to upgrade the Dhaka - Northwest international road and trade corridor in Bangladesh.
Yet another loan for $100 million will help to improve computer science, software engineering, and information technology (IT) programs in three universities in Bangladesh.
A loan for $90million will help to develop infrastructure and sanitation systems that will provide clean drinking water and sanitation services in Bandarban, Lama, and Rangamati towns in Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) region in Bangladesh.
The Vaccines, Therape-utics, and Diagnostics Manufacturing and Regulatory Strengthening Project will establish a vaccine, therapeutic, and diagnostics manufacturing facility and warehousing unit in Essential Drugs Company Limited's (EDCL).
The company located at Gopalganj, with a capacity to manufacture 58 million vials of vaccines per year. An in-house research and development center will be established to support production of diagnostic kits and packaging of biosimilar therapeutics.
As Bangladesh graduates from the Least Developed Country status, the supply of vaccine from GAVI will gradually be phased out," said Country Director Edimon Ginting. The project is financed through ADB's $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility, launched in December 2020.
The $300 million loan to upgrade Dhaka-Northwest international road corridor will come from assistance of the third tranche of $1.2 billion multitranche ADB loans for Second South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Dhaka-Northwest Corridor Road Project.
"This project supports Bangladesh's commitment to modernize the road transport system and improve subregional connectivity and trade," said Country Director Edimon Ginting.
The project will contribute to achieving Bangladesh's goal of an efficient and modern transport system by four-laning the 190-km section from Elenga through Hatikumrul to Rangpur.
ADB loan for $100 million will help upgrade the computer science and engineering, software engineering, and information technology degree programs of the leading public universities such as Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, and the University of Dhaka, as well as Jashore University of Science and Technology.
ADB $90 million loan will help deliver clean water, sanitation services in Chattogram Hill Tracts. It will help develop water treatment plants with a total capacity of 44 million liters per day in Bandarban, Lama, and Rangamati pourashavas (towns), as well as 24 kilometers of transmission line and 340 kilometers of new water distribution network.
It will connect to households in Bandarban and Lama and will modernize sanitation and solid waste management systems through rehabilitated public toilets and the provision of vehicles to safely de-sludge fecal sludge and collect solid waste integrated with a geographic information system.
