The World Bank approved $1.03 billion of financing to help improve regional trade in Bangladesh and Nepal by reducing trade and transport costs and transit time along the regional corridors.
The Accelerating Transport and Trade Connectivity in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS) Program Phase 1 will help the respective governments address the key barriers to regional trade ─ manual and paper-based trade processes, inadequate transport and trade infrastructure, and restrictive trade and transport regulations and processes.
The Phase 1 of the program will help replace lengthy manual and paper-based trade processes with digitized automated solutions in Bangladesh and Nepal, a World Bank press release said on Wednesday.
The automation will enable faster border crossing times and install electronic tracking of truck entry and exit, electronic queuing, and smart parking.
The program will also help improve selected road corridors and upgrade key land ports and custom infrastructure, while ensuring green and climate-resilient construction.
This will help the integration of landlocked Nepal and Bhutan with the gateway countries of Bangladesh and India.
“Regional trade offers enormous untapped potential for the countries of South Asia. Today, regional trade accounts for only 5 percent of South Asia’s total trade, while in East Asia it accounts for 50 percent,” said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Vice President for South Asia. “South Asia can boost economic growth significantly and create opportunities for millions of people by increasing regional trade and connectivity.”
The $753.45 million ACCESS Project in Bangladesh will upgrade the 43 km two-lane Sylhet-Charkai-Sheola road to a climate-resilient four-lane road, connecting the Sheola Land Port with the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway.
This will cut down travel time by 30 percent. The project will support digital systems, infrastructure, and more streamlined processes at Benapole, Bhomra, and Burimari land ports, the three largest land ports in Bangladesh handling approximately 80 percent of land-based trade.
It will also support the modernization of the Chattogram customs house which handles 90 percent of all import/export declarations in Bangladesh.
“While the trade between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal grew six times from 2015 to 2019, the unexploited potential for regional trade is estimated at 93 percent for Bangladesh,” said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. “The project will help Bangladesh improve regional trade and transport and automation of processes will build resilience to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The $275 million ACCESS Project in Nepal will upgrade the 69 km two-lane Butwal-Gorusinghe-Chanauta road, along the East-West Highway, to a climate-resilient four-lane highway.
This is expected to reduce travel time by 30 percent, thus providing better access to India’s western seaports.
The project will construct market areas along the highway with dedicated spaces for women entrepreneurs and traders to ensure that women can benefit from the enhanced economic opportunities. It will also support digital systems and capacity building to enhance trade and customs processes in particular at Birgunj and Bhairahawa border points.
