Logistics Sector Development for Increased Economic Competitiveness (ADB-59189-001)

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.
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
U
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
Aug 3, 2025
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.
Sectors
  • Industry and Trade
  • Technical Cooperation
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 2.00 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)
$ 2.00 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.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Feb 24, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Aug 4, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

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.

According to the Bank’s website, the technical assistance (TA) aims to address major challenges affecting the logistics sector and overall economic competitiveness in Bangladesh, including high logistics costs, congestion, infrastructure gaps, and institutional and regulatory fragmentation. These problems were exacerbated by political turmoil in mid-2024, which significantly disrupted the country’s logistics sector, leading to widespread delays and increased costs and highlighting long-standing structural weaknesses. Key impacts included air cargo delays because of canceled flights at Dhaka Airport, reduced operations at the Port of Chattogram, and important backlogs at major land-based cross-border points like Benapole. Additionally, the suspension of cross-border and inland rail services exacerbated these issues, leading to higher shipping costs and ocean container rates. These disruptions not only affect local businesses but also have broader implications for global supply chains, particularly in segments like the ready-made garment (RMG) industry, where Bangladesh is a key exporter.

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.

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

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

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

The TA financing amount is $2,000,000, which will be financed on two grants basis by ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund.


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.

Project Officer: Sameer Khatiwada
Designation: Principal Public Management Economist - Asian Development Bank
Email: SKHATIWADA@adb.org

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.

How it works

How it works