Deal on Tuesday for additional $245m WB fund for safety net programmes

The World Bank (WB) is set to provide more loans for the project to improve the equity, efficiency and transparency of major safety net programmes in Bangladesh.

To this end, an agreement will be signed on Tuesday between the Washington based money lender and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) at ERD, informed a WB official.

ERD Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam and World Bank Country Director to Bangladesh Qimiao Fan will sign the agreement on each other’s behalf.

As per agreement, an additional $245 million will be provided to the project.

With the additional financing, the WB's total commitment to the project stands at $745 million, said the official.

The credit is from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional lending arm.

The credits are interest-free and repayable in 38 years, including a six-year grace period, and carry a service charge of 0.75 per cent.

BSS says the government implements a number of safety net programmes for the poor and vulnerable.

According to the World Bank, the financing to the ongoing safety net systems for the poor will benefit 9 million poorest households.

It will also help improve performance of some of the country's largest safety net programmes, which are implemented by the Department of Disaster Management.

These safety nets include public workfare and humanitarian assistance programmes.