Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 9, 2011—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is working with policymakers and private sector players to help meet Bangladesh’s ongoing development agenda through public-private partnerships.
IFC today held a workshop in Dhaka, in partnership with the Prime Minister’s office and the World Bank.
The workshop highlighted benefits of public-private partnerships such as sharing knowledge, building institutions, and raising awareness on designing, structuring, and tendering sustainable projects. It also shared successful case studies from and lessons on effective public-private partnerships.
“The government is committed to facilitating the necessary transition to boost Bangladesh’s economic growth and build on development fundamentals. Public-private partnerships can help address the country’s immediate infrastructure needs and garner needed funding for the purpose,” said Abdul Karim, Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The event brought together specialists and expert speakers from around the world. Special guests included Principal Secretary Abdul Karim and Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Economic Advisor to the prime minister. Kazi Aminul Islam, Alternate Executive Director of the World Bank Group, and Thomas Davenport, Director for IFC South Asia, also attended the event. Others attendees were officials of ministries and public sector departments of health, transportation, municipal infrastructure, and private sector and other multilateral partners.
“Bangladesh is considering options to increase private participation in development,” said Rahman. “A sustainable public-private partnership model is an important part of our framework for economic growth and infrastructure development.”
Improving quality of services in Bangladesh, gaining efficiencies, and boosting economic growth through private participation in social and physical infrastructure were part of the discussions.
The Bangladesh workshop is part of a series of IFC-led events in South Asia to identify and address stakeholder concerns and challenges related to public-private partnerships. It was fourth in the series following earlier sessions in Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.