The World Bank will provide an additional financing of approximately$30 million to a key electricity infrastructure project in Bangladesh.
On Thursday, the Bangladesh government signed a load deal with the Washington-based lender at an event at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) in Dhaka, according to a release.
ERD Secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky and Acting World Bank Country Director Gayle Martin inked the deal on behalf of their respective sides.
The money will be utilised in “Enhancement and Strengthening of Power Transmission Network in Eastern Region Project” being implemented by the Power Grid Bangladesh.
The project aims to ensure reliable power supply and meet the growing demand for electricity in the greater Cumilla, Chattagram, and Noakhali regions.
On 10 April 2018, the initial financing agreement of this project amounting to $450.64 million, was signed under Scale-Up Facility (SUF) of the World Bank.
Of the funds, $50.00 million was cancelled from the original amount to repurposing for the Covid-19 related projects during the Covid period.
However, successful implementation of the project requires an additional financing of $30.00 million from the World Bank, the ERD officials said.
The loan repayment period is 30 years with a grace period of 5 years. The interest rate for this loan agreement is 1.25 percent and the service charge is 0.75 percent.
The maximum commitment charge is 0.5 percent, but the World Bank Board decided to waive the commitment charge for this year.
