Bangladesh presents considerable problems for international development cooperation. With an average of 1000 inhabitants per square kilometre, it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Yet it has hardly any mineral wealth to speak of and is repeatedly plagued by natural disasters such as floods. Development cooperation is therefore counting on knowledge transfer to buttress Bangladesh’s economy in the long term and to improve the overall conditions sustainably. High on the agenda are –  in addition to education and training for the predominantly illiterate population – technically sound expansion of the country’s infrastructure in a form appropriate to local conditions, and proper maintenance.

By far the largest part of the country’s 144,000 square kilometres is alluvial land and subject to flooding. Thus, road construction in Bangladesh is no easy task. Not only must roadbeds be made stable enough for surfacing construction: roads must also be of sufficient quality and durability to stand up to the wet climate. Support comes from the Rural Infrastructure Improvement Project (RIIP), which is operated in 16 districts in the south-western part of the country by the central Government in Dhaka together with the Asian Development Bank and the German KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW development bank). GTZ joined the effort in February 2004. As part of the RIIP, German experts principally see to the programme’s technical components. Together with local municipal officials, they plan the construction and proper maintenance of the roads, promote the expansion of local markets, create sources of income for the socially disadvantaged, and strengthen the capacity of local administrations by training and advising elected community representatives.

A single effort, but many improvements

The project team’s approach shows that each individual measure can address a number of dimensions within development cooperation; it makes clear that sustainability largely depends on the quality of knowledge transfer. To take road maintenance as one good example: for one thing, proper road maintenance contributes to greater road durability, which in the end results in a more intact road network and more active participation by the rural population in economic life. For another, proper road maintenance improves the overall circumstances of women, since it is mostly formerly impoverished Bangladeshi women who repair damage to the roads and keep the plant growth alongside them under control. In addition to acquiring a new source of income, the women take a two-day course in the fundamentals of road construction, and can also take courses in hygiene, law, reading and writing. Not the least benefit: what they have learned gives the women the confidence to seek further sources of income.