The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Bangladesh on Tuesday signed a loan agreement for $157millionto mitigate flood and riverbank erosion risks, strengthen climate resilience through structural and nonstructural interventions, and promote knowledge-based solutionsalong the Jamuna, Padma, and Ganges rivers in central Bangladesh.
The Government of the Netherlands will provide $17.89 million in technical assistance grant, to be administered by ADB, to help finance the second tranche of the program, and promote innovations, and capacity building.
The loanforms the second and final tranche of the Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Investment Program (FRERMIP) approved in 2014. Fatima Yasmin, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, and Mr. Edimon Ginting, Country Director, ADB,signed the loan and grant agreements on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB, respectively.
“The program reflects ADB’s commitment for climate resilience and green growth while reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, and managing water-related disaster risks”, said Country Director Edimon Ginting.
“This program supports the Government’s Road map for long-term stabilization of the river system in central Bangladesh through development and implementation of holistic planning strategies.It will directly benefit lives and livelihoods by reducing land losses caused by riverbank erosion, mitigating flood risks, increasingagricultural production, and developing reclaimed char lands.” Mr. Ginting added.
The program adopts a strategic and systematic approach to longer-term flood and erosion protection management planning, as well as building central-level institutional capacity.
Successful and innovative features developed under the first tranche of the FRERMIP and the ADB-financed Jamuna–Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project, such as low-cost geotextile sand-filled bag revetments, will be expanded by combining them with dredging, bioengineering, nature-based solutions, and climate-resilient flood embankments.