The World Bank has approved a dollar 202 million additional financing for the modern food storage facilities project in Bangladesh. The financing will help increase the storage capacity of Bangladesh’s grain reserves by 5.35 lakh tons for 4.5 million households, said a World Bank Press release.
The project will support construction of eight modern grain storage steel silo complexes for rice and wheat in eight districts. It is in addition to the current construction work taking place in three districts of Bangladesh Ashuganj, Madhupur and Mymensingh, the additional financing will support the construction of rice silos in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Barisal, and wheat silos in Chattogram and Maheshwar Pasha.
The acting World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mohammad Anis said that this modern food storage system, combined with an effective distribution system, will help ensure food security after a natural disaster or during a crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
World Bank team leader for the project Christian Berger said that currently Bangladesh has a grain storage capacity of about 2 million tons most of which is in poor condition leading to loss of grain in quantity and nutritional values. He said the project will help improve the efficiency of grain storage management in the country by at least 50 percent. It will extend the nutritional value of grain for upto 2 years from the current 6 months.
The funding is from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA). It provides concessional financing with a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period.