Integrating Japanese and Local Perspectives to Improve Resilient Infrastructure in Bangladesh

ENGAGEMENT NOTE

Bangladesh, considered one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, is also one of the most disaster-prone. The number of people affected by increasingly frequent and intense floods is rising, disproportionately impacting the poorest. These floods often cause immense damage to property and livelihoods, and children suffer from lost school days. In this context, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), with support from the GFDRR Japan-World Bank Program for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Developing Countries (Japan-World Bank Program), through the Local Government Engineering Department, is exploring innovative infrastructure solutions to improve the resilience of communities in flood-prone areas.

The World Bank’s existing disaster risk management (DRM) portfolio in Bangladesh includes various projects such as multipurpose cyclone shelters, roads and bridges, riverbank protections, and early warning systems. With Japan-World Bank Program grant support, technical assistance was provided to enhance planning, design, and implementation of disaster-resilient infrastructure.

In 2023, this grant funded a review of current school-cum-shelter designs to enhance adaptability, lifespan, and simplify operations and maintenance. In collaboration with the Tokyo DRM Hub and an expert from a renowned university in Bangladesh, the GoB engaged Japanese architecture and engineering experts to review the current designs for a four-story multipurpose school-cum-shelter building, with the aim of adaptation and vulnerability reduction. Drawing on their prior experience in Bangladesh, the experts seamlessly integrated traditional Japanese design perspectives with local practices, enriching the approach and the project with diverse insights rooted in minimalism, robustness, and functionality. The GoB particularly appreciated insights around achieving minimal design, adaptability, and functional space design. For instance, repositioning doors and using foldable partitions made from organic materials in classrooms could facilitate flexible bed placement during floods. Additionally, adding a balcony to the building would offer escape routes during floods and enhance airflow and waterproofing. Designs are being developed and construction is expected to begin in late 2024.

Incorporating Japanese techniques and design with local practices addressed challenges and provided opportunities for the GoB to enhance thermal comfort and ventilation, use alternative materials, and integrate resilient, accessible, and flexible design features, including gender considerations.

This technical assistance informed the implementation of two World Bank investment projects: the Emergency Multi-Sector Rohingya Crisis Response Project, a US $165 million investment; and the Coastal Embankment Improvement Project—Phase 1, a US $375 million investment. It also informed the preparation of the Resilient Rural Infrastructure Building Project, a US $500 million World Bank investment.