ADB portfolio in Bangladesh doubles in 7 years to $11.3b in 2022

ADB's sovereign portfolio in Bangladesh grew to $11.3 billion as of August 2022, increasing from $6.5 billion in 2015, according to a news release issued by ADB in Bangladesh.

Projects worth $2 billion were committed to in 2021, and $2,569 million was disbursed, the highest among ADB's developing member countries, the release added.

Noting that the ADB has almost doubled its portfolio in the last seven years, Country Director Edimon Ginting highlighted the need to double the effort in enhancing project implementation to deliver development benefits to people early and accelerate socio-economic recovery from the pandemic-induced losses.

The information was revealed after Bangladesh and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at a tripartite portfolio review meeting (TPRM) today discussed and agreed on actions to further improve the implementation of ADB-assisted projects for accelerating socio-economic recovery.

The targeted ADB commitment for 2022 is about $2 billion.

ADB operates in Bangladesh in six sectors—energy; transport; water and urban/municipal infrastructure and services; education; finance; and agriculture, natural resources, and rural development. The cumulative lending to Bangladesh stands at over $48 billion in loans and grants, including co-financing.