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Highest-ever $ 1.34b WB grant pledged

UNB, Dhaka
The World Bank (WB) has committed the highest-ever assistance of $1.34 billion to Bangladesh for the current fiscal year while the country has been elected to two committees for making the bank's Strategic Climate Change Trust Fund operational.
Finance and Planning Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said this while talking to reporters at Zia International Airport yesterday on his return from Washington DC, where he attended the IMF-World Bank annual meetings.
Of the total assistance, $959 million is for the July-December period of this year and the rest $381
million for the January-June period of the next year, the adviser said.
“This is the largest ever World Bank commitment... this is due to their satisfaction over Bangladesh for various reform measures," he said.
He added that the positive view about Bangladesh was expressed not only by the World Bank but also by other multilateral institutions. "We could project Bangladesh and its image which has helped us gain access to additional funds."
Among the July-December assistance projects, Shiddhirganj Peaking Power Plant of $355 million is scheduled to go to the World Bank Board for approval on
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October 30 while emergency cyclone response project of $ 109 million and Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation project of $150 million during November-December this year.
The food crisis response project of $ 130 million would also be released by tills month as budget support while three other small projects of $215 million have already been approved.
Asked whether the commitment for enhanced support was due to the nature of government with which the institutions like the World Bank and IMF feel comfort to push their agenda, the adviser said: "Everywhere, this statement is not correct."
Replying to another question, he said the World Bank executives did not explain how they would
mobilise the additional fund in view of the current global financial crisis when the donor countries were facing liquidity shortage.
"Our funds come mainly from the IDA (International Development Association) replenishment. which is coming from within the World Bank resources," the adviser said.
"What might affect our fund flow is from the commercial lending from the banks while only the future on how the financial crisis would prolong can tell the prospects for bilateral aid," he apprehended.
The finance adviser foresees positive signs that the recession is unlikely to prolong due to considerable coordination among the donor countries while the banking problem of liquidity was gradually recovering in the worst-hit countries very recently.
He said the inter-bank call money rate recovered to some extent in those countries, the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR) reduced a little bit while the money supply situation improved to some extent.
Aziz said the World Bank is setting up a climate change trust fund and formed two committees -Trust Fund Committee and a subcommittee -- to make the fund operational.
“We're happy that Bangladesh has been elected to the Trust Fund Committee and the subcommittee," he said, expressing satisfaction that Bangladesh is the only country elected to both the committees.
He hoped that Bangladesh will probably be the first country to get the first project under the trust fund.