ADB to replenish $5b grant fund for Asia-Pacific, including transformative projects in Bangladesh

Donors and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to a replenishment of $5 billion for ADB's Asian Development Fund (ADF) 14 and Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF) 8. 

The commitment was made during ADB's 57th Annual Meeting being held in Tbilisi, Georgia on 2-5 May.

The following developing member countries are the primary recipients of grants from ADF 14: Federated States of Micronesia; Kiribati; Kyrgyz Republic; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Nauru; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tajikistan; Tonga; Tuvalu; and Vanuatu. 

Grants will also be available to support the people of Afghanistan and Myanmar and for transformative projects in Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; Cook Islands; Fiji; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Mongolia; Nepal; Niue; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Sri Lanka; Timor-Leste; and Uzbekistan.

The ADF is ADB's largest source of grants for operations in its poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries and is replenished every 4 years. 

ADF 14—marking the 13th replenishment since the fund's establishment—will support grant operations during 2025­­­–2028. 

The ADF 14 replenishment is about 22% higher than the $4.1 billion available in ADF 13 and will provide eligible ADB members with the largest-ever volume of ADF grants. 

TASF 8 will provide grants that help prepare projects, build capacity, and provide technical or policy advice.

"Grants are more important than ever as our poorest and most vulnerable members seek to reverse recent development setbacks and take urgent action to combat the climate crisis," said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa on Friday. 

"This remarkable replenishment demonstrates ADF donors' continued partnership with ADB to address the pressing development challenges of those most in need."

ADF 14 prioritises dedicated assistance to small island developing states that are particularly vulnerable—especially to climate change—and to countries in fragile and conflict-affected situations.  

ADF 14 will continue to play a critical role in supporting climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. It will enable expanded assistance for regional cooperation and regional public goods, and for transformative gender action. 

It will also provide agile assistance in the event of emergencies through its crisis response window.

More than $2.5 billion, or 51%, of the replenishment will be funded by contributions from donors including two new countries: Armenia and Georgia. ADB will significantly increase its net income transfers to ADF, from just under $1.2 billion in ADF 13 to almost $1.6 billion in ADF 14, an increase of 35%. 

The remaining $0.9 billion will comprise transfers from earlier ADF cycles and income from liquidity investments. In parallel, ADB intends to provide $16.7 billion in concessional loans, which have very low interest rates over long repayment periods, during the ADF 14 period. 

Overall, ADB will be able to provide more than $8 in grants and concessional loans for every $1 in donor contributions.

The following donors announced contributions to ADF 14: Armenia; Australia; Austria; Canada; Denmark; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Luxembourg; Malaysia; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; People's Republic of China; Philippines; Portugal; Republic of Korea; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taipei, China; Türkiye; United Kingdom; and United States.