ADB Provides Bangladesh 22 mln USD for Tourism, Bridge Design Development

Dhaka, Bangladesh | December 07, 2009 by D-8 Secretariat

The loan will also help increase the capacity of sector agencies to sustainably manage the protected sites, and will target increased involvement by local communities in tourism

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Bangladeshi government Monday signed two agreements worth 22 million U.S. dollars in soft loans which aimed at promoting tourism and completing design of a bridge in the South Asian country.

The ADB said around 12 million U.S. dollars in loans for tourism development in Bangladesh comes from the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project (SATIDP), which will develop and improve infrastructure and services for key tourism sites in Bangladesh, Nepal and India.

According to press release of the Manila-based multilateral funding agency Monday, it will also help increase the capacity of sector agencies to sustainably manage the protected sites, and will target increased involvement by local communities in tourism.

It said the SATIDP, a 57.5 million U.S. dollar regional project, will target transport and other infrastructure upgrades and will improve water supply, sanitation and solid waste management services at key sites.

The ADB said South Asia has many renowned natural and cultural attractions, including the world’s highest mountain and the Sacred Garden in Lumbini, Nepal, where Buddha was born, the Rumtek Buddhist Monastery in India’s Sikkim state, and ancient monasteries and temples in western Bangladesh.

The bank also said the supplementary assistance of 10 million U. S. dollars for the bridge — Padma– will help complete its design work for which the bank in 2007 also provided 17.6 million U.S. dollars in loans.

The Padma Multipurpose Bridge Design Project involves the preparation of a detailed design and engineering documents for the construction of the 5.58-kilometer long and 25-meter wide bridge, including river-training works and approach roads.

M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary, Economic Relations Division of Bangladesh, and Paul J. Heytens, Country Director of ADB’s Bangladesh Resident Mission, signed the loan agreements on behalf of their respective sides here in Dhaka.

News Source: iStockAnalyst

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