France provides Bangladesh €100m for renewable energy projects
Energy
France is providing €100 million to Bangladesh as loan for energy-efficient, renewable energy and environment-friendly projects.
A Credit Facility Agreement (CFA) was signed virtually on June 15, 2020, in Dhaka between the Government of Bangladesh and the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), according to an Economic Relations Division press release circulated on Thursday.
Dr Gauranga Chandra Mohanta, additional secretary of ERD and Daniel Vain, country director of AFD signed the loan agreement on behalf of the Bangladesh government and AFD respectively.
The loan will be provided for long-term debt financing and catalyzing private sector participation through the implementing agency Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL).
The IDCOL is a public financial institution specializing in the financing of infrastructure and renewable energy projects and developing intervention into new green segments.
The loan has a repayment period of twenty years and a grace period of seven years.
A concessionary rate of six months Euribor plus 35 percent will be offered as a rate of interest under the CFA.
The Credit Facility Agreement (CFA) aims to contribute to Bangladesh's transition to a less carbon-intensive economy.
It will support the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance (SUNREF) projects to deepen the market and energy efficiency practices in industrial enterprises and the tertiary sector. It will also develop industrial projects for the production of renewable energies.
The Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) is the bilateral development agency implementing official development assistance on behalf of the French Government.
It has been operating in Bangladesh since 2012. It supports development projects for urban development and infrastructures including water and sanitation, public transports, urban services, power, and green energy.
It provides concessional sovereign loans and can mobilize grants under the regional blending facility of the European Union. It has a portfolio of €610 million in Bangladesh of which the amount of grant is €24 million.
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