The National Economic Council (NEC) approved the much-anticipated Delta Plan 2100 yesterday as part of the government’s efforts to secure the future of water resources and mitigate against the likely effects of climate change including natural disasters.
The approval came in a meeting held at the NEC conference room in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area of Dhaka with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, reports BSS.
“We firmly believe that our most important resources are the water resources,” Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters after the meeting.
“If we could properly utilize these resources, then we will certainly not lag behind in agriculture and Bangladesh will grow economically. Through the implementation of the plan, the country could boost the GDP growth by another 1.5% by 2030.”
The planning minister said that after studying the example of the Netherlands, PM Sheikh Hasina had directed the authorities concerned to frame such a plan to tap the maximum potential of Bangladesh as a deltaic region.
“The Netherlands has benefitted greatly by adopting such a plan as the country was able to reclaim around 6,000 square kilometres of land in addition to their mainland,” he said.
The Dutch government and the World Bank have both helped the General Economics Division (GED) to prepare the plan over the past 3.5 years.
A total of 26 studies were carried out by local experts and at least 80 projects have been selected for implementation. Of them, 65 would be infrastructure projects while 15 others would aim to enhance institutional capacity, efficiency and research.
Three-phase plan
The planning minister said the government will need to raise $37 billion by 2030 to implement the plan over three phases: a short-term plan by 2030, a mid-term plan by 2050, and a long-term plan by 2100.
At present, however, the government spends only 0.8% of GDP on delta management projects and programs. This figure will need to be more than tripled - to 2.5% of GDP - if the 80 projects of the plan are to be implemented.
To reach this total, Bangladesh is likely to get $2 billion assistance from Green Climate Fund every year. The remaining costs will be met by other development partners, foreign direct investment, and the private sector - which is expected to contribute 20%.
The State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan, Planning Commission GED Member Prof Shamsul Alam, and other secretaries concerned were also present at Tuesday’s briefing.
Prof Shamsul Alam said the plan highlighted six hotspots: coastal areas; Barind Tract and drought-prone region; haor (backswamp) and flash flood prone areas; Chittagong Hill Tracts region; river region and estuaries; and the urban region.
To execute the Delta Plan 2100, a high-level Delta Governance Council will be formed to make decisions and issue directives. This will be led by the prime minister, with the planning minister serving as vice-president.
Additionally, a project or operations selection committee led by GED member will be constituted. The secretaries of the ministries related to the Delta Plan will be committee members, who will select and monitor the projects and programs.
Also, on Tuesday, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal informed that work is underway to frame another plan for the year 2021-2041 to transform Bangladesh from a developing into a developed nation.
