$300m IDA loan to create high-skilled labour society
The repayment period of the loan is 30 years including five years grace period
The International Development Association (IDA) will provide Bangladesh with a $300 million low-cost concessional loan to create future employment opportunities for youth and workers including women and disadvantaged people.
The main objective of the loan is to create a high-skilled labour society by 2030.
The World Bank's arm that hands out loans and grants to the poorest developing countries will give the credit to implement the "Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) Project"
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For this, Fatima Yasmin, secretary to the Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Mercy Tembon, Country Director of the World Bank, Dhaka Office signed a financing agreement on behalf of their respective sides on Monday, read a press release.
In line with the National Education Policy 2010 and the National Skills Development Policy 2011, the five-year project has been adopted.
The Directorate of Technical Education under the Technical and Madrasa Education Division will act as the lead implementing agency and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Employment, the Ministry of Industries, and the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division will act as partner implementing agencies of the project.
The project will be implemented from July 2021 to December 2026.
One lakh youths will get benefit from this project and hence it will play a significant role in the economic development of Bangladesh.
The major components of the project include transforming formal skills development for the future of work, inclusiveness, and resilience; innovative skills development programmes for employment and empowerment.
Enhancing the institutional capacity of government agencies of the skills development system, strengthening employability and inclusiveness of diploma courses for priority sectors, and expanding market-demanded formal short-courses for priority sectors are the other components of the project.
The loan will be received in standard terms and conditions of IDA, which includes a 0.75% service charge on disbursed amount and interest at the rate of 1.25% per annum.
The repayment period of the loan is 30 years including five years grace period and the commitment fee has been fixed at 0% for quite a long time, added the press release issued by the ERD.
