ZCZC
BSS-11
WB-GOVT-AGREEMENT
WB to give $100.5m to improve DSCC livability
DHAKA, May 29, 2019 (BSS) – The government today signed a $100.5 million
financing agreement with the World Bank to improve livability of four large
neighborhoods in Dhaka City under a project benefitting about a million
residents.
The agreement was signed by Economic Relations Division (ERD) Additional
Secretary Md. Zahidul Haque and World Bank Acting Country Director Zahid
Hussain on behalf of the government and the World Bank in the NEC-2
Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
The credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association
(IDA), has a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period, and carries a
service charge of 0.75 percent and an interest of 1.25 percent.
The Dhaka City Neighborhood Upgrading Project will enhance public spaces
and urban services in four neighborhoods-Kamrangir Char, Lalbagh, Sutrapur-
Nayabazar-Gulistan, Khilgaon-Mugda-Bashabo-under the Dhaka South City
Corporation.
The project will help upgrade public spaces such as parks, playgrounds,
waterfronts; streets, sidewalks; and transform public buildings such as
community centers into multipurpose facilities to serve communities.
ERD Additional Secretary Zahidul Haque said Dhaka city accounts for about
one-fifth of the country’s GDP and half of formal employment.
“Hence, Dhaka plays an important role in achieving the government’s vision
of upper-middle income country. The project will help Dhaka offer features of
a modern city to its residents.” he added.
World Bank Acting Country Director Zahid Hussain said, “With more than one-
third of the country’s urban population living in Dhaka, it is one of the
world’s most densely populated cities.
Due to inadequate infrastructure, lack of public amenities and severe
traffic congestion, the residents face many difficulties in their everyday
lives,” he said.
He also noted that the project will address some of these challenges and
help enhance the quality of civic life.
Under the project, the four localities were selected through a series of
consultations with multiple stakeholder groups.
The project will help enhance green open spaces by improving selected
parks, streets and waterfront areas.
It will also pilot interventions for safe mobility and traffic management
and incorporate environment-friendly features and energy efficient design
principles and materials in all interventions that it will support.
The project will cater to the differentiated needs of women and children,
elderly and disabled. Women in Dhaka face challenges in terms of mobility,
walk ability and access to public infrastructure.
Around 93 percent of women reportedly do not use public toilets and 42
percent perceive the city’s parks to be unsafe.
To improve personal safety and access for women and children, the project
will ensure energy-efficient street lighting, police posts, health clinics,
and other integrated amenities.
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