The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed interest in working with the local government department for rural development.
It will focus on communication, potable water supply and sanitation management to implement the government's election manifesto and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's vision "My village is my city".
Local Government and Rural Development Minister Md Tajul Islam made the comment after ADB Country Director Edimon Ginting expressed such interest to the minister during a meeting on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the ADB Country Director expressed his enthusiasm in providing assistance for the development of various infrastructures including water and sanitation, roads, bridges and culverts in rural areas, as well as waste management in Cox's Bazar.
Welcoming his interests, the minister said, “The government is committed to implementing the country's Eighth Five Year Plan and missions of achieving SDG-2030. ADB needs to identify the areas where it has the opportunity to work towards achieving these goals through funding.”
He drew the attention of the country director to complete the ongoing projects including water-sanitation and infrastructure funded by ADB within the stipulated time. The minister also called for the release of funds for speedy implementation of the project.
At the same time, he shared that ADB has expressed interest in financing a proposed project for rural sanitation development.
The minister added that the local government department has come out of the low-cost formula when building infrastructures including sustainable roads. The government is committed to ensuring sustainable development. All kinds of measures have been taken for this purpose.
Helaluddin Ahmed, Senior Secretary, LGRD, Md Abdur Rashid Khan, Chief Engineer, LGRD, Md Saifur Rahman, Chief Engineer, Department of Public Health Engineering and Taqsem Khan, Managing Director, Dhaka WASA, were present during the meeting.
