WB to provide $15m to implement NSDS project

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DHAKA, June 25, 2018 (BSS) – The World Bank will provide $15 million
financing to implement the National Strategy for Development of Statistics
(NSDS) Implementation Support Project to help Bangladesh produce accurate
statistics in a timely manner.

The financing will also help the country make more evidence-based policy
decisions.

The loan agreement to this end will be signed on Thursday at 4:00 pm at the
NEC-2 conference room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area, said a World
Bank official.

The official said Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Kazi Shofiqul
Azam and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh Qimiao Fan will sign the
agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

The NSDS Implementation Support Project will improve the Bangladesh Bureau
of Statistics (BBS)’s capacity to produce and disseminate quality statistics
in a timely manner.

In 2013, Bangladesh approved the National Strategy for the Development of
Statistics (NSDS) and Statistics Act. The project will help implement key
elements of the strategy. It will enhance coverage and improve collection and
quality of data for core statistics, including, national accounts, price
statistics, labor and industry statistics, social statistics, and
agricultural statistics. It will also produce gender-disaggregated data.

The credit for the project will come from the International Development
Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessional lending arm. The credit is
interest-free and repayable in 38 years, including a 6-year grace period, and
carries a service charge of 0.75 percent.