"I think it was one of the reasons why in the mid-90s the World Bank largely got out of infrastructure lending (in Bangladesh)," he told a questioner at a press briefing ahead of the WB-IMF annual meetings at Suntec Singapore.

"I was not really aware of that until I came into this job. And one of the things that was very striking in my first encounters with leaders from developing countries was a plea for the bank to increase its infrastructure lending," Wolfowitz said.

He, however, said the poor countries desperately need infrastructures -- ports, roads and power.

Asked about his observations he made during his last year's visit to Bangladesh on large infrastructure projects that are becoming a tempting target for politicians to finance elections, he said, "...not just increasingly...but indeed. May be because there's a lot of money involved."

The WB president went on: "...they are classically known as a potential target of corruption."

In his opening remarks at the briefing, Wolfowitz explained the issues to be discussed at the annual meeting targeting poverty reduction.

He said the WB would give first priority to sub-Saharan Africa for poverty reduction but at the same time stressed the need for the WB to become more flexible in general for the countries in a fragile state.

Wolfowitz said governance issue has received a lot of attention and it was going to be the major subject of discussion at the annual meeting. The Development Committee will be addressing the bank's strategy on governance and anti-corruption.

"First of all, the purpose is not to find a reason to cut back on lending; to the contrary, it's to make the quality of our lending better and to make sure that the lending and grant-making that we do go where it is supposed to go, which is to help the poorest of the world," he added.