The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved a total of 11 development projects involving around Tk4,542 crore.
The approval came from the weekly meeting presided by Ecnec chair and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who joined from Ganabhaban through videoconference.
Other ministers and officials concerned attended the meeting in person at the National Economic Council in Dhaka.
Among the approved projects, a fresh project, titled “Her Power Project: Empowering Women with Technology (Phase II)”, has been designed to create self-employment opportunities for women and thus ensure their sustainable empowerment as entrepreneurs by enhancing their skills through the best and safest use of information technology.
The ICT Division will implement the project at 130 upazilas of 44 districts under eight divisions at the cost of Tk250 crore by December 2024.
“Tuesday’s meeting approved six fresh projects and five revised ones. The overall estimated cost of the 11 projects is Tk4,541.81 crore [only additional costs of the revised projects were counted here],” Planning Minister MA Mannan told a press briefing.
Among those, four projects are under the LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry, three under the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, two under the Water Resources Ministry, one each under the ICT Division and the Railways Ministry, he said.
All the projects will be implemented with finance from the government, said the minister.
In terms of the cost, the biggest fresh project is “Protection of river banks from Kaliganga River Erosion to protect different important areas in Nababganj upazila of Dhaka, Saturia, Ghior, Manikganj Sadar and Singair upazilas of Manikganj” involving Tk689 crore.
The Water Development Board will execute the project by June 2024.
The four other new projects are "Expansion of Dairy Cooperative Activities in Milk Deficit Upazilas" with the estimated cost of Tk156.88 crore, “Waterlogging Elimination in Sadar Upazila of Narayanganj” with Tk149.70 crore, Waste Management Development of Mymensingh City Corporation and Necessary Equipment and Machineries Supply" with Tk122.13 crore, and "Protection of Morelganj Upazila Sadar and its adjoining areas in Bagerhat from Panguchi River Erosion and Re-excavation of Bishkhali River" with Tk658.83 crore.
Three of the five revised projects include the "Excavation of Canal from Bayaipara of Bahaddarhat to Karnaphuli River (second revised)” (its cost rose to Tk1,362.62 crore from Tk1,256.16 crore in the first revision and Tk326.85 crore in the original layout); “Construction of Broad Gauge Railways between Chilahati and Chilahati Border to Establish Rail Link with India (first revised)” (the cost increased to Tk140.69 crore from Tk80.17 crore), "Border Roads (Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban Hilly Districts) (first phase) Construction (first revised)" (the cost went up to Tk3,874.72 crore from Tk1,699.85 crore).
The other two revised projects are “Upgradation of District Highways to Appropriate Standards and Widths (Comilla Zone) (first revised)” (the cost stands now at Tk735.22 crore from Tk657.31 crore) and “Nabinagar-Shibpur-Radhika Regional Highway Construction and Development (R-203) (first revised)” (the cost enhanced to Tk439.52 crore from Tk343.60 crore).
PM to city corporations: Increase own income
In the Ecnec meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the city corporations to be self-reliant gradually by increasing their own revenue, said the planning minister
She stressed the need for paying special attention to waste management and said effluent treatment plants (ETPs) should be set up so that no water from drains is directly mixed with rivers.
The prime minister also directed the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division to expand dairy cooperatives in the upazilas where milk production is insufficient to meet the growing demand for protein, said Mannan.
Mannan: No institutional corruption in country
Replying to a question, the planning minister said corruption might take place at an individual level to some extent, but there is no institutional corruption according to his knowledge.
The government is now curbing individual-level corruption, he said.
ADP implementation 45.56% in 9 months
The planning minister also said the implementation rate of the Annual Development Program (ADP) during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year is 45.56% with an overall expenditure of Tk98,934.92 crore.
He said the rate is 3.64% higher than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year (2020-21).
The ADP implementation rate was 41.92 % with an expenditure of Tk87,735.51 crore in the same period of the 2020-21 fiscal, according to a report of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED).
In March 2022 alone, the implementation rate was 10.53%, which is 7.23% higher than March 2021.
The ADP allocation is Tk217,175.35 crore for the current fiscal year.
