Dhaka, Jan 18 - The Bangladeshi government has signed a $290 million financing agreement with the World Bank for the country's second Local Governance Support Project, said the Washington-based lender.

The project will continue to support Bangladesh's decentralisation efforts through provision of direct block grants to Union Councils, the lowest tier of local government system in the South Asian country, for financing local priorities, Xinhua quoted a world bank statement as saying.

With its nationwide coverage to all 4,504 Union Councils, the project would benefit 86 percent of the country's population or nearly 130 million people, it said.

The project would also provide increased discretionary resources and introduce performance based grants in addition to expanding the amounts and coverage of direct block grants, said the statement.

The project will channel 30 percent of funds to schemes prioritised by the women and would support formation of Women's Forum at the sub-district level, it added. (IANS)