Dhaka, January 5:

Bangladesh has been assured by donor and lending agencies as well as countries like Japan and Saudi Arabia that it will get $1.52 billion in the current financial year for more than 50 development projects.

The assurance has come in writing and also during a series of meetings with finance and planning minister M Saifur Rahman and senior officials between June and December 2005, the New Age daily reported.

The minister was given a summary of issues such as assurance of grants, status of loan negotiations, data for signing of loan agreements and details of fund disbursement. The projects that lenders and donors have agreed to finance are listed in the annual development programme for 2005-06. A majority of the projects are scheduled for completion within the current fiscal year and others will continue till 2010, said the sources.

The Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation, DFID, DANIDA, CIDA, Japan, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Saudi Arabia are among the donors and lenders who have assured the government of funds. Officials expect between 70 and 80 per cent of the funds to be disbursed in the current fiscal year.

“We are optimistic of receiving a lion’s share of the funds by the end of this fiscal year as the internal procedures are in the process,” an official said.