An Action Plan to Promote Private Sector Participation in the Provision of Disaster-resilient Infrastructure in Bangladesh

The Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) is a multidonor technical assistance facility, launched in July 1999 with the purpose of helping developing countries improve the quality of their infrastructure through private sector involvement. PPIAF supported an activity in Bangladesh with the long-term goal of strengthening the capacity of the private sector and of micro-finance institutions (MFIs) in particular, to invest in disaster-resilient infrastructure. At present, the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) faces budgetary and delivery capacity constraints in infrastructure provision, while demand continues to increase. Overall infrastructure investment is insufficient to meet the demands of a growing population and to support the expansion of productive activities. At the same time, existing infrastructure is not only in need of rehabilitation, but is also highly vulnerable to many natural hazards such as floods, landslides, river erosion, cyclones, and storm surges. In addition to the significant backlog that exists in basic infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications, transport and energy, existing facilities and infrastructure continue to deteriorate because of low standards in the construction phase, low maintenance levels and overuse, which increases their vulnerability to disasters. Not surprisingly, a high share of investments in infrastructure are lost to recurrent disasters, while scarce public funds have to be diverted time after time to reconstruction. Similarly to its role in this domain in other countries, the private sector could play a central role in developing and/or managing infrastructure in Bangladesh, help improve infrastructure standards and reduce its vulnerability.