Dhaka, Dec 2 (IANS): The World Bank has approved $250 million in financing to help Bangladesh strengthen environmental management and promote private sector participation in green investment.

The Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) Project will support the Department of Environment to strengthen its technical and administrative capacity, the Washington-based lender said in a statement on Friday.

The statement said successful implementation of the project will help the South Asian country tackle key pollution issues, benefitting over 21 million people living in Greater Dhaka and beyond, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Bangladesh's rapid economic growth and urbanization have come at a high environmental cost in terms of pollution. Not only that the pollution is impacting our health, but also it is eroding the country's economic competitiveness," said Dandan Chen, World Bank acting country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.

"The World Bank has been a long-standing partner to Bangladesh in tackling environmental challenges. This project will strengthen the country's environmental institutions to better control pollution and promote sustainable development," she added.