The World Bank has approved $358 million to help Bangladesh improve road safety and reduce fatalities from road traffic crashes on selected high-risk highways and district roads.
The Road Safety Project will help Bangladesh achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on road safety by 2030, said the bank in a statement on Tuesday.
On two national highways, N4 (Gazipur-Elenga) and N6 (Natore to Nawabganj), the project will pilot comprehensive road safety measures, including improved engineering designs, signing and marking, pedestrian facilities, speed enforcement, emergency care, added the statement.
It said these measures would help reduce road traffic deaths by more than 30 per cent on the two highways.
“Road accidents are the leading cause of permanent disability and the fourth leading cause of children’s death.
“They disproportionately affect poor families.
“For Bangladesh, improving road safety is a critical economic and development priority.
“This is the first dedicated road safety project in South Asia supported by the World Bank,” said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
According to her, the project will help Bangladesh develop a comprehensive programme to improve road safety management and minimise tragic loss of human lives.
According to the World Bank statement, costs related to traffic crashes can be as high as 5.1 per cent of the gross domestic product.
Unsafe and under-invested road infrastructure is one of the key factors for crashes and with a sharp increase in the number of vehicles including two-wheelers, safety inspections for the registered vehicles remain inadequate, it said.
The bank said the project would establish a training centre for Bangladesh Police to strengthen capacity on modern road safety enforcement.
It added that the project would also develop a comprehensive training programme for commercial drivers.
