World Bank agrees $500m financing for Bangladesh road project

The government of Bangladesh has signed a $500 million financing agreement to help Upgrade the Jashore-Jhenaidah highway and improve the connecting rural roads and markets.

The Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement Program Phase I project will help upgrade the 48km two-lane Jashore-Jhenaidah road to a modern four-lane highway. The project will also help rehabilitate about 600km connecting rural roads, and build new or develop existing rural markets. It will also install fiber-optic cables along the highway to ensure fast and reliable Internet service.

The project is the first of a multi-phased $1.4 billion ten-year program to upgrade the existing 110km two-lane highway, Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron and Jashore-Jhenaidah. In the current phase, the project will be implemented in four districts: Jashore, Jhenaidah, Magura, and Chuadanga. In the first two years, the project will create about 1.3 million day works for local rural people in civil works.

The credit from the World Bank’s International Development Association, has a 34-year term, including a four-year grace period.