Bangladesh's donors propose $4 bln post-cyclone plan

Storm survivors are seen rushing towards an aid relief in Bangladesh in this November 24, 2007 file.

DHAKA (Reuters) - A group of donors has proposed a $4 billion recovery programme for Bangladesh three months after the impoverished South Asian country was battered by a deadly cyclone, officials said on Friday.

The mission led by the World Bank said last November's cyclone caused economic losses worth $1.6 billion or 3 percent of Bangladesh's gross domestic product.

More than 3,300 people were killed in the worst cyclone since 1991, which made millions homeless and washed away about 1 million tonnes of rice, the country's staple food.

Officials said the 11 donors, including the United Nations and USAID, handed a report to Bangladesh's interim army-backed government on Thursday suggesting the proposed rehabilitation be implemented in three phases.

The report -- received by the government's External Resources Division -- put the cost of damage to houses by cyclone Sidr at $800 million, agricultural losses at $440 million and damage to the transport sector at $140 million.

It proposed $1.51 billion in 2008-2012, $1.39 billion in 2013-2017 and $1.09 billion in 2018-2022 for risk identification, disaster preparedness and mitigation programmes.

Bangladesh had previously sought $2.2 billion in aid from foreign donors for the cyclone-affected areas.