According to the Bank’s website, the proposed project will improve climate-resilient livelihoods and access to basic services for rural communities living in the three hill districts of Bandarban, Khagrachari, and Rangamati of the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) region, a remote and relatively under-developed region of Bangladesh. The project will adopt a holistic approach to addressing deficiencies in financial, human, physical, natural, and social capital that are needed to support sustainable and resilient community development.

Poor access to basic services is evident in the CHT and is much worse than in the rest of the country. Access to safe water is the main difficulty for rural communities, and poor sanitary practices compound the problem of poor drinking water quality. Lack of access to water and sanitation leads to a greater burden of work for women and decreased opportunities for women and girls to participate in other productive undertaking. Access to paved roads is very limited since 74% of the CHT's planned road network is unpaved. Poor Road conditions increase transportation time and costs, which in turn affect disaster preparedness and viability of livelihood options for the communities. In terms of the CHT administration, there is capacity constraint in the areas of finances and technical capabilities for planning and undertaking development interventions.

The project in which this technical assistance (TA) shall be attached was approved in June 2023 and is being implemented. The executing agency and the implementing agencies have indicated the need for increasing their capabilities in implementing the project and sought ADB support for increasing capacity and complementing technical expertise during the implementation of the project through a TA. More specifically, the support requirements are: (i) build capacity of CHTRC and the hill district councils (HDC) in important functions such as financial management and monitoring and evaluation; (ii) build MoCHTA's capacity to prepare project proposals seeking external funding; and (iii) undertake external monitoring reviews of social safeguards of the project activities. Through the TA, the executing agency and the implementing agencies project management capabilities will be strengthened, and the project outputs and outcomes can be achieved more efficiently and effectively.

According to the Technical Assistance Report, the Risk Categories are:

Environment: Not Applicable
Involuntary Resettlement: Not Applicable
Indigenous Peoples: Not Applicable

The TA financing amount is $500,000, which will be financed on a grant basis by ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF 7).

No contacts available at the time of disclosure.

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.