Providing cyclone shelters and safeguarding critical road access to protect lives in a rural coastal region of Bangladesh. Developing urban infrastructure and safeguarding vulnerable city-dwellers from climate risk. Establishing a national centre of excellence for climate resilience infrastructure, to inform and guide future infrastructure development throughout the country.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate risk, notably to cyclones and floods. Coastal districts are particularly at risk from extreme weather, a risk which will be exacerbated by climate change impacts such as increased seasonal variation, higher precipitation levels, and rising sea levels. Three of the country’s most vulnerable and poor coastal districts are targeted by the project: Bhola, Barguna, and Satkhira.

The project establishes a national centre of excellence to gather, develop, and share climate resilience infrastructure knowledge. Rural infrastructure development will be supported by constructing 45 new cyclone shelters and renovating 20 existing shelters. The shelters built under this project will be used as primary schools in normal times, providing 45 additional schools and helping educate 18,590 children. The improvement of 80 km of critical access roads to the rural shelters will also be undertaken, to safeguard access during extreme weather and enhance the adaptive capacities of local communities.

Pilot climate-resilient urban infrastructure projects will also be undertaken in the city of Satkhira. Urban projects may include improvements to drainage, flood protection, sanitation, water supply, and transport, with priority given to the most vulnerable such as the inhabitants of city slums.