The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved 10 projects worth a combined Tk 93.33 billion. Of this, Tk 84.887 billion will come from the government’s own funding and Tk 9.364 billion from project loans. Of the approved projects, six are new and four are revised.
The projects were approved at a meeting Wednesday at the Planning Commission’s NEC conference room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tareque Rahman. At the meeting, the prime minister also unveiled a five-year strategy paper on development and reform.
According to reports, a project to purchase two product oil tanker ships for the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) did not receive approval at the meeting. The project, with an estimated cost of roughly Tk 14.58 billion, was sent back for further review. For the same reason, a roughly Tk 5.67 billion project to protect and conserve the Turag river (first phase), aimed at addressing waterlogging in Dhaka and protecting the river, was also sent back.
Explaining why the two projects were not approved, State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki told reporters after the meeting that an agreement was reached to purchase four oil tankers during the prime minister’s visit to China. He said a decision on this project would be made after reviewing whether it overlaps with that agreement.
The state minister for planning further said that, similarly, instead of a standalone Turag river protection project, an integrated project covering the stretch from the Turag to the Buriganga is being considered. The project may be brought forward on a broader scale.
What the approved projects include
Among the projects approved by ECNEC are: replacing and rebuilding unusable structures at Dhaka Medical College; constructing 19 modern hostel buildings for students at 10 medical colleges; upgrading smart maintenance technology capacity for bridges under the Roads and Highways Department; protecting Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila from erosion on the right bank of the Dharla river; strengthening the coastal embankment up to Bansbaria ferry ghat in Chattogram’s Sitakunda upazila; rehabilitating and strengthening village roads; strengthening the capacity of the Department of Livestock Services; constructing a 100-megawatt solar power plant in Madarganj, Jamalpur (second revision); expanding and strengthening electrical infrastructure in DESCO’s coverage area (first revision); and infrastructure development for Ramu Cantonment.
The meeting was attended by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam, Water Resources Minister Md Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid, Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain, State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, and other relevant senior officials.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report