Four billion dollar post-cyclone plan for Bangladesh
The UN and USAID along with nine other donors have proposed a plan costing US$ 4 billion for post-cyclone reconstruction in Bangladesh. Cyclone Sidr had struck the country in November last year leaving thousands dead and causing huge economic losses.
Dhaka, Bangladesh: A group of donors has proposed a $4 billion recovery programme for Bangladesh three months after the impoverished South Asian country was battered by a deadly cyclone, officials said on Friday.
The mission led by the World Bank said last November's cyclone caused
economic losses worth $1.6 billion or 3% of Bangladesh's gross domestic
product.
More than 3,300 people were killed in the worst cyclone since
1991, which made millions homeless and washed away about 1 million
tonnes of rice, the country's staple food.
Officials said the 11 donors, including the United Nations and
USAID, handed a report to Bangladesh's interim army-backed government
on Thursday suggesting the proposed rehabilitation be implemented in
three phases.
The report – received by the government's External Resources
Division – put the cost of damage to houses by cyclone Sidr at $800
million, agricultural losses at $440 million and damage to the
transport sector at $140 million.
It proposed $1.51 billion in 2008-2012, $1.39 billion in 2013-2017
and $1.09 billion in 2018-2022 for risk identification, disaster
preparedness and mitigation programmes.
Bangladesh had previously sought $2.2 billion in aid from foreign donors for the cyclone-affected areas.
