AIIB approves $170m loan to improve Bangladesh’s sanitation infrastructure
About 1.5 million residents in Dhaka will reap the benefits of improved sanitation services following the approval of a $170 million loan by the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The Dhaka Sanitation Improvement project, co-financed with the World Bank, will support Bangladesh government's investments in sanitation infrastructure comprising sewerage systems, sewage treatment, and pilot measures for hard-to-reach areas in the Pagla catchment, one of the most densely populated regions of the city.
Children below age five and vulnerable households bear the highest burden of poor sanitation through morbidity and the increased loss of productivity because of water-borne illnesses, according to a press release from AIIB.
"AIIB is focused on making certain its projects improve quality of life for the most vulnerable communities. This project is likely to directly donate to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which is to ensure access to water and sanitation for all," said AIIB Vice President, Investment Operations, DJ Pandian.
"The knowledge of implementing this project will strengthen AIIB's capacity to finance broad-based water supply and sanitation projects, which are in popular in the areas of the spot," he said.
The project funds will be utilized to reconstruct two trunk mains, create a new secondary and tertiary network and a wastewater treatment plant. Other key pieces of the investment include strengthening the capacity of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority and testing the feasibility of locally adapted collection and sewage treatment solutions.
The project is AIIB's eighth investment in the country, all of which are aligned with the country's priority development plans and the SDGs. The approved project brings the Bank's total commitment in Bangladesh to USD 1.068 billion.
