DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim finance minister said on Sunday that the economic impact of Cyclone Sidr was “huge” but it was too early to estimate the extent of the damage to the country’s ailing economy.

“The economic loss of the cyclone is colossal. We are still counting,” Mirza Azizul Islam said.

“Millions of people have been badly affected. No doubt its impact will be huge on the economy. But it may take some weeks before we know the magnitude of the damage and how it would affect the overall economic growth,” he added.

The cyclone follows floods in July and August. A state of emergency declared in January and the interim government’s subsequent corruption crackdown have already left business confidence badly dented.

Bangladesh’s 69-billion-dollar economy was projected to grow at seven per cent in the year ending June 2008. But even before the cyclone, the floods had forced the central bank to lower its growth forecast to 6.5 per cent.

The economy expanded at a record 6.6 per cent last year.

The Bangladesh think-tank, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), gave an initial damage estimate of more than $1.5 billion.

“We have done the estimate on the figures given by the government’s disaster management ministry. The losses are still piling up as more reports are coming,” said executive director Mustafizur Rahman.

“We think growth will slow down to somewhere between five and six percent as a result of the floods and the cyclone,” Rahman said.

The human impact has been equally devastating. The government said the Nov 15 cyclone left more than 3,400 people dead and 1,700 missing, with 6.7 million people affected.

At least 360,000 homes were completely destroyed and a further 800,000 partly damaged, said squadron leader Jahan of the armed forces control room, who only uses one name.

About 1.6m hectares of crops had also been lost and 460,000 livestock killed, while over 650km of roads had been wiped out. More than 1,300 schools and colleges and 1,600 small bridges and waste water pipes were also destroyed, he added.

In addition, about 10,000 shrimp farms have been razed in the cyclone, which would cause a sharp drop in exports to Europe and the US, said Abul Bashar, executive director of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters’ Association.—AFP