ADB to provide $ 50mn for financing cleaner brick kilns
Dhaka, May 13 (UNB) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $ 50 million in loan to help improve the environment by financing more energy-efficient brick kilns in Bangladesh.
ADB’s Board of Directors approved the “Financing Brick Kiln Efficiency Improvement Project” on May 10. Under the project, the ADB will provide $50 million in local currency to the Bangladesh Bank which will re-lend the funds to participating financial institutions, said a press release.
These financial institutions will then provide loans to brick makers seeking to upgrade their existing kilns to cleaner kinds of kilns or to those looking to build the cleaner kilns for the first time.
The release said the brick making sector contributes around 1 percent of the Bangladesh economy. However, it is highly polluting, burning about at least 6.0 million tonnes of coal and emitting at least 9.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year, largely because of Bangladesh’s estimated 5,000 brick fields use the highly polluting fixed chimney kilns.
A fixed chimney kiln uses 240 tonnes of coal and emits 582 tonnes of CO2 per million bricks produced. This compares with the cleanest tunnel chimney which uses only 100-120 tonnes of coal and produces 291 tonnes of CO2.
The Bank and Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance will be the executing agency while Bangladesh Bank will be the implementing agency. The project will be implemented from 2012-2015.
As part of efforts to reduce pollution and coal use, the government has already said no new yearly licenses for fixed chimney kilns will be renewed after September 2012 and all such kilns will be banned from September 2013.
“Brick-making is one of the biggest polluting industries in the country,” said Anqian Huang, Finance Specialist in the Public Management, Finance Sector, and Trade Division of ADB’s South Asia Department. “By helping brick makers to switch to cleaner kinds of kilns, the air in Bangladesh will be cleaner and people’s heath much improved.”
To help make the changes in the brick-making sector proceed more smoothly, the ADB is also preparing a technical assistance, financed by the government of Japan.
This will, for example, help the government formulate brick sector policy and regulations, support government and financial intermediaries implement the ADB loans, and build understanding among brick makers of the value of switching to cleaner kilns.
ADB’s Board of Directors approved the “Financing Brick Kiln Efficiency Improvement Project” on May 10. Under the project, the ADB will provide $50 million in local currency to the Bangladesh Bank which will re-lend the funds to participating financial institutions, said a press release.
These financial institutions will then provide loans to brick makers seeking to upgrade their existing kilns to cleaner kinds of kilns or to those looking to build the cleaner kilns for the first time.
The release said the brick making sector contributes around 1 percent of the Bangladesh economy. However, it is highly polluting, burning about at least 6.0 million tonnes of coal and emitting at least 9.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year, largely because of Bangladesh’s estimated 5,000 brick fields use the highly polluting fixed chimney kilns.
A fixed chimney kiln uses 240 tonnes of coal and emits 582 tonnes of CO2 per million bricks produced. This compares with the cleanest tunnel chimney which uses only 100-120 tonnes of coal and produces 291 tonnes of CO2.
The Bank and Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance will be the executing agency while Bangladesh Bank will be the implementing agency. The project will be implemented from 2012-2015.
As part of efforts to reduce pollution and coal use, the government has already said no new yearly licenses for fixed chimney kilns will be renewed after September 2012 and all such kilns will be banned from September 2013.
“Brick-making is one of the biggest polluting industries in the country,” said Anqian Huang, Finance Specialist in the Public Management, Finance Sector, and Trade Division of ADB’s South Asia Department. “By helping brick makers to switch to cleaner kinds of kilns, the air in Bangladesh will be cleaner and people’s heath much improved.”
To help make the changes in the brick-making sector proceed more smoothly, the ADB is also preparing a technical assistance, financed by the government of Japan.
This will, for example, help the government formulate brick sector policy and regulations, support government and financial intermediaries implement the ADB loans, and build understanding among brick makers of the value of switching to cleaner kilns.
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