BB to enhance support to 'green brick' manufacturing

DHAKA, (BSS) - Bangladesh Bank (BB) would continue and enhance its financial support to green brick manufacturing project, BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman said.

"BB is aiming at rechanneling of all domestic financing away from polluting high carbon traditional output practices and lifestyles towards the environmentally sustainable energy efficient, low carbon 'green' alternatives", the governor told a workshop held at a city hotel on Thursday.

Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and UNDP Bangladesh Green Brick Initiative organised the workshop on investment in energy efficient brick manufacturing projects.

Dr Rahman said brick-making contributes about 1.0 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and provides employment for around one million people. But, the mostly coal-based traditional brick making kilns are highly polluting and wasteful in energy use, which is why we took this up as an area for early intervention.

He said the central bank with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supporting energy efficient green brick manufacturing projects with an refinancing scheme of Taka 400 crore.

The governor said IDCOL has joined this initiative with another Taka 400 crore, which is an auspicious occasion of doubling of the thrust for greening of output practices and processes in this sector.

Besides this funding, he said mobilizing external expertise from UNDP and other external sources would also help make brick kilns more energy efficient and eco-friendly.

Referring that the BB's thrust initiatives in areas like solar energy and 'green' brick making have been successful in their initial pilot scales, Dr Rahman said these initial success stories need to be followed up with major scaling up and broader countrywide replication.

He said BB would remain active in rendering a clear pro-green stance to the country's domestic credit and financing policies and practices, including facilitation of raising 'green' finance from domestic and external sources.

IDCOL Chief Executive Officer Mahmood Malik also spoke at the workshop, attended by representatives from banks, financial institutions and brick manufacturers.