BMirrorDesk:This year, Bangladesh will receive $1 billion in loans from the New Development Bank (NDB), which was founded by the BRICS alliance, for its development initiatives. This information was disclosed by NDB Vice President Vladimir Kazbekov on Tuesday, April 8, at a meeting with Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna.

According to Vladimir Kazbekov, 320 million US dollars have already been approved by the NDB to construct the enlarged Dhaka City Water Supply Resilient Project. However, they intend to boost the loan amount more than three times this year in light of Bangladesh’s growth demands.

At the meeting, the Chief Advisor praised the role of this new multilateral lending institution and said that it can make a significant contribution to the development of the country’s development infrastructure.

Kazbekov said that the NDB is also committed to providing significant support for the development of Bangladesh’s gas sector infrastructure.

He also said that the NDB is interested in providing significant loans there to increase the capacity of the country’s private sector.

The chief advisor said that NDB loans should be given with importance to social infrastructure sectors such as building housing facilities for thousands of workers in the country’s economic zones.

Kazbekov said that NDB has already launched a multi-currency loan facility, which will be beneficial for Bangladesh.

Shahriar Quader Siddiqui, secretary of the Economic Relations Division, stated that care should be taken to guarantee that the NDB develops a nation’s strategic plan in accordance with Bangladesh’s development priorities.

Lamia Morshed, the interim government’s Chief Coordinator for SDGs, Shahriar Quader Siddiqui, the ERD Secretary, and Chowdhury Ashiq Mahmud Bin Harun, Executive Chairman of the Investment Development Authority (BIDA), attended the meeting.