Close on heels of Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith stating that Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committing and disbursing more funds for Bangladesh, but is still very slow in giving approvals to projects, Director General of the South Asia Department of the lender, Hun Kim said, “All our projects need planning and design before we award those to contractors.” He suggested that Bangladesh Government should make project proposals ready to get the loans disbursed quickly.
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Interacting with a daily newspaper on the sidelines of the ADB’s annual meeting in Frankfurt recently, Kim stated that Bangladesh will remain a priority for the Asian Development Bank in its lending expansion plan for the next five years.
“Now Bangladesh is a bright spot for ADB; we are very optimistic about the country,” said the Director General of the South Asia Department of ADB, adding, “The ADB is not formulating projects anymore for Bangladesh; the Government is doing that and we are supporting their plans,” while underlining that the country’s bureaucracy has also increased substantially.
Kim further stated that Bangladesh has got US $ 1.5 billion in financing from ADB in 2015, and this year the lender will start a US $ 1billion railway project. “Fund is not a problem for Bangladesh; its capacity to absorb funds has to be increased,” said Kim, adding, “Bangladesh is a success story but it is not fully recognised; it is doing everything right in the region.”
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He also maintained that Bangladesh has advanced a lot in industries and agriculture sectors, creating jobs for its people, adding that Bangladesh’s textile sector is a bright example of success.
