Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Wencai Zhang today said Bangladesh needs to take steps to increase private investment for maintaining the present trend of economic growth.
“Infrastructure development is imperative for Bangladesh to ensure an investment friendly environment,” said the visiting ADB vice president at a press conference here, reports BSS.
He said Bangladesh needs to build developed road connectivity in the country and at the same 
time it will have to attach importance to develop regional connectivity also. ADB will give Bangladesh US$800 crore in loan over the next five years, he added.
Wencai Zhang said ADB gave Bangladesh US$120 crore in implementation of different development projects in the last year. Such assistance will be increased to US$200 crore from US$180 crore in the current year.
He said Bangladesh’s economic growth is likely to be 6.9 percent for fiscal year 2016-17. Bangladesh has been achieving over 6 percent growth in a row for the last few years, he said, adding that Bangladesh should increase its investment in infrastructure development sector to maintain the present pace of economic growth.
The ADB vice president expressed satisfaction for intensifying security of the offices of development partners in Bangladesh and implementation sites of different development projects after the Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka.
He suggested revamping rural economy for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Bangladesh is the worst victim among countries affected by climate change, he said, adding that ADB will continue its support to Bangladesh to minimize the climate change impact.
Wencai Zhang said during his stay in Bangladesh he visited secondary schools and talked to teachers and students. The students are using multimedia in their class rooms, he added.
