Bangladesh will get $473 million from the World Bank to build a strong financial sector and develop long-term disaster resilience in the urban areas of Dhaka and Sylhet.

The long-term loan will come under two projects -- $300 million for financial sector support project and $173 million for urban resilience project, the lender said in a statement.

The government yesterday signed two financing agreements with the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessional arm that helps the world's poorest countries, at the Economic Relations Division in Dhaka.

The financial sector support project will enable the participating financial institutions to provide long-term financing to manufacturing and export-oriented firms, according to the statement.

The financing institutions will lend at commercially determined rates and also offer Shariah-compliant financial products.

The project will strengthen Bangladesh Bank's supervisory and oversight functions and help build financial infrastructure.

The urban resilience project will address seismic risk and reduce structural vulnerability of future building constructions in Dhaka and Sylhet.

The project will strengthen the capacity of government agencies to respond to emergency events by equipping them with response resources, including emergency operations centres, inter-operable communication systems, and search and rescue equipment.

The project will also contribute to improved building construction practices through certified training programmes and development of online permitting systems in Dhaka and Sylhet.

“The two projects will contribute to building a prosperous and resilient Bangladesh. The financial sector support project will help make doing business in Bangladesh easier by providing eligible private sector firms with access to long-term financing. This will help to create more jobs,” said Christine Kimes, acting country head of the World Bank Bangladesh.

The lender is currently investing about $1.2 billion to build resilience to coastal flooding and cyclones, the statement said.

"Promoting urban resilience is a greater challenge, as rapid urbanisation and population density are making Bangladeshi cities more vulnerable to disasters. The urban resilience project will help improve emergency management and building construction practices,” Kimes said.

Mohammad Mejbahuddin, senior secretary of Economic Relations Division, said Bangladesh needs a transparent, inclusive, efficient and effective financial sector to realise its dream of becoming a middle-income country.

“Enhancing resilience to disasters like earthquakes in the major urban centres is necessary not only to save human lives but also to undergird the development gains of the past years,” he said. Credits from the IDA have a 38 year term, including a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75 percent.