ADB, Japan help Bangladesh to strengthen roads

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Bangladeshi government have signed a technical assistance (TA) grant agreement of 1.5 million U.S. dollars for strengthening the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) to support the government's institutional development initiatives, said the Manila-based lender Sunday. It said the government of Japan is financing the TA through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction. ADB will administer the fund, and provide technical support for project implementation, said the bank in a statement. It said the technical assistance project will help modernize the RHD and streamline its business processes. It will also support RHD to improve its schemes for maintenance of roads and bridges, and overloading control, it added. "This TA will help improve human resources, auditing, management information systems, planning capacity, e-tendering, and computerization of the RHD," said M Teresa Kho, country director for ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission. "In addition to other reforms as per an action plan, a training center for the RHD engineers will also be developed."