The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved US$300 million for Solid Waste Management Improvement Project in Bangladesh. 

The project consists of the following components:

• Investments in the expansion of primary waste collection; improvement of primary and secondary waste storage facilities; and construction and repair of transfer stations;
• Funding for waste management and disposal infrastructure, including the closure and/or rehabilitation of contaminated landfills, the construction and/or rehabilitation of engineered landfills, and the provision of composting and resource recovery facilities;
• Institutional development, capacity building and project management support will strengthen the institutional capacity of relevant central and local agencies in the area of SWM.

Project activities will take place at up to 20 ULBs in which land is available. The project should reduce exposure to pollutants and disease vectors; promote commercial and operational modernization in the sector through the development of regional landfills; allow alternative service delivery models, including private sector involvement in SWM in the country; strengthen the regulatory framework in the sector; intensify efforts to promote waste minimization, recycling and source separation. The project will be subject to the Bank's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), including the Environmental and Social Exclusion List (ESEL) and related environmental and social standards (ESS). 

The project is in the process of preparing a Stakeholder Engagement Plan.