The government has decided to spend Tk2,043 crore to improve services in four new municipalities.
The project – titled Inclusive City Governance Project (ICGP) – will be implemented by June 2020 in four new city corporations in Narayanganj, Gazipur, Rangpur and Comilla.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in the capital yesterday.
For the project, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide Tk2,397 crore on loan and the rest will be provided from the state exchequer.
Along with the ICGP, the meeting also approved six development projects valued at Tk7,839 crore.
“Of the total project cost, the government will provide Tk5,441 crore from the national exchequer while Tk2,397 crore will come from project assistance,” said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal after the meeting.
For providing electricity to rural areas, the Ecnec gave its approval for three development projects – Extension of Rural Electrification in Dhaka Division-II, Extension of Rural Electrification in Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions-II and Extension of Rural Electrification in Chittagong and Sylhet Divisions-II.
Some Tk4,717 crore has been approved for the projects aiming to supply electricity to every village in the country by 2021.
Fifty seven Palli Bidyut Samitys (PBS), out of total 72, across the country under Rural Electrification Board (REB) will be brought under the projects to facilitate 11.5 lakh new connections.
Under the three electrification projects, 26,190km new transmission lines would be installed while 2,810km transmission line would be rehabilitated/renovated in these five divisions.
REB is entrusted to implement the project by June, 2018, which will cover 43 districts in five divisions.
Officials said the country needs a total of 3,26,263km transmission lines to ensure electric connectivity to every village by 2021.