Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has ordered that spending on consultants in development projects be reduced and has advised that the government’s own skilled staff be used instead, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki told journalists. He said the prime minister had also ordered storage capacity to be added to the solar power project to be built at Rampal. Although the project has been approved, it is to be revised quickly so that batteries can store power for eight hours. The cost is to be raised by issuing bonds. This will be done even though it raises the cost somewhat.
In reply to a question, he said power from the project would cost less than Tk 7 a unit.
He was speaking at a briefing on Wednesday after the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
Also present at the briefing, in the NEC conference room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, were Planning Commission members Dr Kamrunnahar and Dr Monzur Hossain and SM Mosaddek, additional secretary of the planning ministry.
“Four city corporation projects have been approved. Preparations for them had been under way for a long time, so they have nothing to do with the local government elections,” the state minister said.
He said solar panels would be installed at Rampal on the site of the second unit of the coal-fired power project.
In reply to another question, he said a sewage treatment plant would have to be installed within two years when sewerage lines are laid in the capital. The prime minister has also ordered special attention to quality in building roads and any other infrastructure: if any government infrastructure is damaged within at least three years, the contractor must bear the responsibility, and projects must provide for this. He also ordered that the Rangpur City Corporation infrastructure project be carried out in line with the corporation’s master plan.
“One project had a proposal to buy vehicles, but it has been cancelled,” the state minister said.
On another question he said the railway would be made modern and fit for the times, and 30 locomotives would be bought as part of that.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report