Cai Li, Deputy Country Director of the Asian Development Bank Bangladesh Resident Mission presented the awards for the year 2016 to the winning teams at a ceremony in Dhaka on 21 May evening. Senior government officials, project directors of ADB-assisted projects, members of the winning project teams, and ADB staff attended the ceremony.

The winning project teams are Participatory Small Scale Water Resources Sector Project, excuted by the Local Government Engineering Department; SASEC Railway Connectivity Akhaura-Laksam Double Track Project executed by the Bangladesh Railway; and, Power System Efficiency Improvement Project, Part A – Construction of Ashuganj 450 Megawatt Power Plant, executed by Ashuganj Power Station Company Ltd.  

“The project teams were selected for results delivery, efficiency, effective project implementation, efforts to empower women, transparency, and other criteria”, said Deputy Country Director Cai Li.

Participatory Small-Scale Water Resources Sector Project (with $55 million ADB financing) is developing community-based infrastructure with participation of stakeholders, including farmers, fishermen, landless people and women. The project, including two of its forerunners, helped raise cropping intensity from 176% to 237%, saved one crop from regular flooding, added over 390,000 tons of crops, and created employment of 6.27 million person-days per annum.

The SASEC Railway Connectivity, AkhauraLaksam Double Track Project (with $505 million ADB financing) is helping to upgrade the 72-kilometer Akhaura–Laksam section of the Dhaka–Chittagong railway corridor to a double track dual-gauge railway line, along with modern signaling equipment. This project will help reduce transport costs; improve logistics of strategic corridors, such as Dhaka–Chittagong link, for domestic and subregional trade; and enhance inclusiveness of railway services by introducing infrastructures, which are friendly to the elderly, women, children, and the disabled.

The Power System Efficiency Improvement Project ( with $500 million ADB financing) is helping to construct a 450 megawatt combined cycle modern power plant in Ashuganj, which will produce 80% more power by using the same amount of energy as before, thus contributing to environmental sustainability.

The best project team recognition program was initiated in 2001, and has been a regular annual exercise by ADB to promote development effectiveness of ADB-assisted projects in Bangladesh.

As of 30 April 2017, ADB’s ongoing lending to Bangladesh stood at $7.6 billion for 54 projects, while the ongoing technical assistance amounted at $28.6 million for 32 projects. ADB approved loans, totaling $1,099 million, for Bangladesh in 2016.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing.