A USD525,000 grant aimed at supporting sustainable private capital infrastructure financing in Bangladesh was approved by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Governing Committee during its meeting in Beijing on 24 June. The project will be implemented by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The MCDF grant will fund capacity building to improve City Bank PLC’s (CBL) environmental and social (E&S) management system and practices, including its project-level grievance redress mechanism. A systems gap analysis, quality enhancement measures, and staff training for implementation support will be among the activities covered by the grant.

This work will help CBL meet AIIB and other International Financial Institution standards in areas such as biodiversity impact management and E&S assessment and better manage E&S risk. It will in turn enable CBL to advance its sub-projects pipeline and ensure they are economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially inclusive.

Pipeline examples include several renewable energy power plant projects and a submarine cable connectivity project that would enhance connectivity between Bangladesh and Singapore.