DHAKA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a concessional loan of 100 million U.S. dollars for a project to expand access to affordable and resilient housing finance for low- and middle-income borrowers in Bangladesh, particularly women.
The project will address a significant shortage of safe and affordable housing and limited access to housing finance for households with informal incomes who are not typically served by conventional mortgage lenders, the Manila-based lender said in a statement on Sunday.
"Housing is a critical foundation for dignity, opportunity, and resilience," said ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Qingfeng Zhang.
"By helping low- and middle-income families, especially women, invest in safer and more resilient homes, this project will contribute to Bangladesh's broader goals of reducing poverty, strengthening social protection, enhancing human development, and fostering more inclusive and sustainable economic growth," he added.
By 2031, according to the ADB, the project is expected to have provided loans to at least 40,000 households, including at least 32,000 women and at least 24,000 borrowers residing in areas vulnerable to natural hazards.
It will promote financial and land literacy, as well as housing rights awareness, while enhancing housing security for women through strict documentation of borrowers' spousal residency arrangements, said the lender. ■