The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Bangladesh government on Monday signed an agreement for US$190 million in additional loan for the ongoing Rural Connectivity Improvement Project that is upgrading rural roads, making agricultural areas more productive, and improving socioeconomic centres in rural Bangladesh.
Economic Relations Division Secretary Sharifa Khan, and ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Edimon Ginting signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides, said a press release.
"This project will help improve access to social services and boost economic opportunities in the rural areas, while making communities more resilient to climate change and natural disaster," said the ADB Country Director Edimon.
"Through this project, ADB will expand and improve rural road networks by making the road design and construction more climate and disaster resilient," he added.
The ADB country director said this project also helps improve transport efficiency in rural areas, boost agricultural productivity, and generate employment.
The ongoing project, approved in November 2018, has upgraded about 1,700 kilometres (km) of rural roads, strengthened the capacity of rural infrastructure agencies and road users and improved rural road master planning.
More than 900km of rural roads have been added to the original target since 2020.
This additional financing will further extend the improvement of another 1,350km of rural roads with climate resilience design and improved safety features. The project will also strengthen the capability of the Local
Government Engineering Department in adopting the nature-based bioengineering
solutions for climate change adaptation.
