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WB to provide assistance for slum dwellers in Bangladesh

Visiting World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in Dhaka on Monday the bank is ready to provide necessary assistance, including financial aid, to Bangladesh for improving the living standard of the country\'s slum dwellers. \"What I\'ve seen today (is that) the people have no access to necessary health facilities, education and electricity. I\'ve seen a lot of children who are not in school, this is really the biggest problem. If the government is willing, then the World Bank...

WB approves loan of $100 mln for Chinese water

The World Bank has approved a loan of $100 million to help improve water supply and wastewater management in a major urban area of Anhui province. The Bengbu integrated environment improvement project will focus on enhancing water management in the middle and lower reaches of the Huaihe River Basin. The city of Bengbu – with a population of around 3.5 million – faces frequent flooding and industrial pollution, inadequate wastewater collection and treatment, and an unreliable...

WB approves 50 million-dollar grant for roads in DR Congo

The World Bank Board has approved a 50 million-dollar grant to help reopen and maintain 1, 800 km of roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) as the country recovers from a decade of civil war. The High Priority Roads Reopening and Maintenance (Pro-Routes) project is \"critical for the physical reunification, for achieving high, sustained and shared growth and for reconnecting the social fabric\" of the African country, said the World Bank in a statement released on...

WB rates India as top receiver of migrant remittances in 2007

India is the top receiver of migrant remittances in 2007, followed by China and Mexico, said the World Bank\'s new Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008, released Wednesday. The document also shows that while South-South migration nearly equals South-North migration, rich countries are still the main remittances source, led by the United States. The top five recipients of migrant remittances in 2007 were India (27 billion dollars), China (25.7 billion dollars), Mexico ( 25 billion...

WB to help Bangladesh repair flood-control dams, construct cyclone shelters

The World Bank will provide 7 billion taka (about 1 million US dollars) for repairing Bangladesh\' s flood-control dams damaged by cyclone Sidr and 3 billion taka (about 429,000 US dollars) for constructing shelter centers. Visiting Managing Director of the World Bank Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala disclosed the aid plan while visiting the Sidr-affected Putuakhali district, 160 km south of capital Dhaka, on Wednesday, private news agency UNB reported. The local people told the WB official how they...

WB grants $38.4 mln to Chinas Silk Road heritage

The World Bank has granted 38.4 million US dollars in loans to help northwest China\'s Gansu Province achieve sustainable tourism development, according to the bank. The money will be used to restore and conserve nine natural and cultural heritage sites along the Gansu section of the Silk Road. It includes a section of the Great Wall, ancient housing, a geological park and Mount Maiji, home to numerous grottos, temples, frescos and sculptures, according to a press release from the bank. A...

WB approves 6 mln USD grant for Cambodia to fight bird flu

The World Bank Group on Wednesday approved a six million US dollars grant to support Cambodia\'s efforts to implement a national plan to minimize the threats from avian and human influenza, and to prepare its health systems to respond to any possible outbreak in the future. The grant, provided by the International Development Association (IDA), will be used to finance the Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness Emergency Project (AHICPEP), a press release said. Designed in...

WB boosts aid to food crisis

The World Bank said in Washington on Thursday that it will provide extra 1.2 billion dollars in grants and loans to help overcome the global food crisis. To address immediate and longer-term food challenges, the Bank said it will boost its overall support for global agriculture and food to 6 billion dollars next year, up from 4 billion dollars in 2008, and will launch risk management tools and crop insurance to protect poor countries. The 1.2 billion dollars, which are designed to address...

WB cuts 2008 China growth forecast to 9.4 pct

The World Bank (WB) cut its forecast for China\'s 2008 economic growth to 9.4 percent in a report released on Tuesday. In February, it forecast 9.6 percent, down from the 10.8 percent prediction made in mid 2007. Louis Kuijs, senior economist of the World Bank\'s Beijing office, said the latest adjustment was made purely out of concerns over external factors of the Chinese economy. As the world economy had slowed more rapidly in the past two months, this had a negative impact on the growth...

WB to lend US$441 mln for Chinese energy efficiency

The World Bank (WB) has approved loans of US$441 million to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions from power plants in China, the China office of the WB said on Wednesday. The loans, which account for almost one third of planned loans for China in fiscal 2008, would go to three projects, according to the lender. The energy efficiency project, co-financed by the WB and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), would get a loan of US$200 million. The project, which would also receive a...