Early Warning System

Regions

South Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Bangladesh

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Dhaka

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Nov 29, 2023

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Government of Bangladesh

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy
Infrastructure

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 160.00 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 160.00 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 160.75 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Bank Documents

Media Documents

ADB Loan to Boost Energy Supply and Distribution in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jan 13, 2024

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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the ADB, the proposed project supports the Government of Bangladesh in enhancing the electricity distribution network in the rapidly expanding city of Dhaka to ensure reliable electricity supply to residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. The project will construct substations, lay underground cables, and overhead lines to provide reliable, safe, and improved quality of electricity supply to 200,000 new and 1.1 million existing customers in Dhaka. In addition, the project will improve the energy efficiency and also support the improvement of the operational capacity of Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO).

The project's attached TA will enhance the government's and DESCO's public-private partnership (PPP) capacity, support the necessary reforms and develop a roadmap and action plan for strengthening DESCO's capacity for accessing commercial borrowing, and support inclusiveness in DESCO's operations by strengthening and monitoring gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) requirements during project implementation.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The ADB categorized the project as follows:

Environment	B
Involuntary Resettlement	B
Indigenous Peoples	C

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Acording to the ADB project disclosure page, the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund will technical assistance in the amount of US$ 0.75 million.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by WSJ Market, Dhaka Electric Supply Co., Ltd. engages in the distribution of electricity. It offers postpaid and prepaid connections and provides new electric connection, load and line extension, electric line and substation maintenance, post paid bill payment, and prepaid meter recharge services. The company was founded on November 3, 1996 and is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd. (DESCO)	Contractor	Energy

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

ADB Team Leader:

Roka Sanda - Principal Energy Specialist

No contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

Executing Agency - Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd.:

Website: http://desco.gov.bd/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.