ADB’s $175M Energy Project Brings New Opportunities to Bangladesh’s Chattogram Hill

ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Qingfeng Zhang described reliable power as a force that can strengthen jobs, businesses, education, health care, and community resilience.

Families, schools, health centres, and small businesses across Bangladesh's Chattogram Hill Tracts are set to receive safer and more dependable electricity through a new Asian Development Bank project designed to narrow one of the country's most persistent regional energy gaps. ADB has approved a $175 million concessional loan for the Sustainable Energy Development and Community Empowerment in the Chattogram Hill Tracts Project, which will expand and modernize power networks across 26 remote upazilas in Khagrachari, Rangamati, and Bandarban.

At least 88,000 additional households are expected to benefit from the investment, including 35,000 households belonging to small ethnic communities. The support carries particular significance in a region of about 1.84 million people where difficult terrain, scattered settlements, and limited infrastructure continue to restrict access to electricity, public services, education, health care, and reliable sources of income.

Modern Power Networks Will Reach Communities Beyond the National Electrification Success

Bangladesh has achieved a national electrification rate of 99%, yet grid coverage in the Chattogram Hill Tracts remains far below that level, reaching only 49% of residents in Khagrachari, 43% in Rangamati, and 41% in Bandarban. The project is expected to raise regional grid access to 68% by 2032, giving thousands of families a stronger foundation for learning, household security, communication, enterprise development, and access to essential services.

Planned construction includes six 33/11 kilovolt substations that will add 80 megavolt-amperes of capacity, along with 5,032 kilometres of new distribution lines fitted with low-loss conductors. Another 1,874 kilometres of aging lines will be upgraded, supported by improvements to four substations, one switching station, and a zonal repair workshop. These upgrades are expected to lower system losses and operating costs, improve grid performance, reduce annual emissions by at least 19,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, and make electricity infrastructure more resistant to disasters.

ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Qingfeng Zhang described reliable power as a force that can strengthen jobs, businesses, education, health care, and community resilience. The expanded network will also be prepared for future renewable energy sources, including solar power and pico-hydropower, helping the region move toward a cleaner and more flexible energy system.

Clean Water, Solar Backup, and Women's Leadership Will Strengthen Essential Services

Electricity expansion will be paired with community facilities that respond to daily needs beyond household power connections. At least 30 solar-powered drinking water systems will be installed and managed by community organizations, with women holding no less than 30% of leadership positions, giving them a meaningful role in decisions about local resources and service delivery.

Solar backup systems will also provide clean emergency power during outages at a minimum of 20 schools, hospitals, temples, clinics, and other facilities serving small ethnic communities. These installations can help medical workers continue essential care, allow students to learn in safer conditions, and keep important community spaces operating when the main electricity supply is interrupted.

Three customer complaint centres will make power services easier to access, and three childcare facilities equipped with digital monitoring systems will support families and working caregivers. Bangladesh Power Development Board employees will receive training in customer service, distribution operations, maintenance, environmental and social safeguards, and disaster-resilient energy technologies.

Skills Training and Business Support Will Turn Electricity Access into Local Income

Reliable power can create its greatest impact when people have the skills, tools, and support needed to use it productively. At least 1,000 residents will receive livelihood training, more than 200 entrepreneurs will gain business incubation support, and 300 students will be introduced to energy-sector careers and disaster-resilient power systems.

The project carries a total financing package involving several partners. Alongside ADB's $175 million concessional loan, the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific will provide a $2.72 million grant financed by the Government of Japan. The Government of Bangladesh will contribute $36.54 million, and the Bangladesh Power Development Board, serving as the executing and implementing agency, will provide $45.65 million.

For communities separated by mountains, forests, and difficult travel routes, dependable electricity can mean more than light after sunset. It can support safer childbirth, refrigerated medicines, digital learning, clean drinking water, stronger local businesses, and new income opportunities close to home.