ADB outlines Bangladesh’s future challenges in development effectiveness brief

Bangladesh still faces challenges in creating enough productive jobs to reduce poverty and unlock the country's development potential, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says in its ‘development effectiveness brief 2017’.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 5 Feb 2017, 05:23 PM
Updated : 5 Feb 2017, 05:23 PM

“Easing infrastructure constraints is an important priority. Enhancing the quality of the workforce is another. Other priorities and challenges include improving the business climate and reducing the costs of doing business,” it pointed out as the future challenges of Bangladesh.

The report released on its website also acknowledged Bangladesh’s socio-economic gains with a steady rise in its gross domestic product, boost in social development, and meeting the Millennium Development Goal of halving the incidence of poverty in 1990–2015.

Bangladesh is one of the largest recipients of the concessional loan of the Philippine-based lender.

As of December 2016, ADB’s cumulative assistance for Bangladesh amounted to $18.3 billion for 265 loans and $249.5 million for 419 technical assistance projects.

Bangladesh reached a lower-middle-income status in July 2015, on the strength of an annual economic growth rate of 6 percent and above during the fiscal year 2011 to the fiscal year 2015.

“Growth was fueled mainly by a rise in readymade garment exports, overseas workers' remittances, and domestic consumption. In the past two decades, growth was steady and inclusive, creating jobs for low-skilled workers and women,” according to ADB.

“A large increase in food production together with a sharp decline in population growth led to higher food availability per capita”.

As future challenges, the report also identified that mobilising the large amounts of financing needed for physical and social infrastructure, including through private investments and public–private partnership is also a “priority”.

“Ensuring environmental sustainability and climate resilience is a major challenge as well”.

The ADB will finance priority investments in energy, transport, and urban infrastructure and in human capital development to diversify the economy and release long-term growth potential in 2016–2020.

Such support will also help make growth more inclusive by accelerating rural and regional development, says the brief.