The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million loan to expand access to affordable and disaster-resilient housing finance for low- and middle-income households in Bangladesh, particularly women and families excluded from conventional bank lending.
Of the total loan, $40 million will come from ADB’s Climate Adaptation Fund. The bank will also provide a $600,000 grant for technical assistance to support implementation of the project.
The funds will be channelled through the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and eligible microfinance institutions under it. The project will provide long-term, collateral-free housing loans to help families build new homes or repair and upgrade existing ones.
According to an ADB statement, the initiative aims to address the shortage of safe and affordable housing and limited access to housing finance in Bangladesh. It will particularly benefit households dependent on informal incomes that remain outside the traditional housing finance system.
“Housing is a fundamental pillar of human dignity, opportunity and resilience,” said ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Kingfeng Zhang.
He said supporting low- and middle-income families, particularly women, to build safe and disaster-resilient homes would contribute to poverty reduction, stronger social protection, human capital development and inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
The project aims to provide housing loans to at least 40,000 households by 2031. At least 32,000 of the beneficiaries are expected to be women, while at least 24,000 borrowers will live in areas vulnerable to natural disasters.
The project will also promote financial and land-related awareness and increase awareness of housing rights. Particular emphasis will be placed on proper documentation of spousal occupancy arrangements to strengthen women's housing security.
To promote disaster-resilient housing, the project will incorporate improved house designs, construction practices and measures to protect homes from disaster-related damage.
These measures are expected to improve the ability of homes to withstand floods, cyclones, extreme heat and other natural hazards and extreme weather events.
The ADB said the project would also strengthen Bangladesh's housing finance system and encourage greater private-sector participation in the sector.
PKSF and participating microfinance institutions will receive support to strengthen their capacity in areas including information management, risk assessment, disaster risk screening, loan portfolio monitoring and digital reporting.
