European Investment Bank to lend Є250m to strengthen healthcare in Bangladesh
The loan deal is EIB’s highest and first standalone contribution so far
Aimed at strengthening the healthcare system and purchasing Covid-19 vaccines, the government has signed a Є250m (Tk2,426.44 crores) finance contract with the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The concessional loan deal, inked on 29 December, will also be used in expanding social security in the health sector, read a press statement from the finance ministry.
Fatima Yasmin, secretary at the Economic Relations Division of the ministry, and Edvardas Bumsteinas, head of the Asia and Pacific Division, and Imanol Lecue Gurtubay, legal counsel, signed the agreement on behalf of the Bangladesh government and EIB respectively.
The Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance will be the executing agency of the "Bangladesh Covid-19 Public Health Programme", which will be implemented by the Health Services Division of the Ministry of Health and Family welfare.
The latest loan deal, which comes with a 20-year repayment tenure including a grace period of five years, is EIB's highest and first standalone contribution so far as part of their development cooperation to our country.
EIB, an important development partner of Bangladesh, co-financed four projects along with ADB amounting to $423 million in railway and water treatment plants of Dhaka WASA.