The World Bank has made an aid pledge of 247 million dollars to Bangladesh which was hit by two natural disasters last year -- Cyclone Sidr in November and floods in August.
The loans from the International Development Association (IDA), the Wold Bank's concessionary arm, have 40 years to maturity, including a 10-year grace period, with a service charge of 0.75 percent, said the World Bank.
Praful Patel, World Bank's vice president for the South Asian region who recently inspected cyclone hit areas, said the pledge aimed to help the country cope with the economic pressure and the immediate relief needs of nearly 9 million cyclone victims.
"Have witnessed the cyclone devastation first hand, (I see) the challenges are enormous to rebuild lives, and restore incomes, and livelihoods," said Patel.
The two disasters in Bangladesh directly affected over 13 million people in 46 districts, causing over 1,000 deaths and destroying over 2 million acres of agricultural lands, and damaged infrastructure, social and educational facilities, according to the World Bank.
"We estimated the total loss of the floods was about 1.4 billion dollars, accounting for about 2 percent of GDP," said Xian Zhu, the World Bank country director in Bangladesh.
"This aid pledge will help Bangladesh rebuild houses, transportation systems, schools, education centers, and individual and community sanitation facilities," he said.