The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved 13 projects with a total expenditure of BDT 8,333.28 crore to accelerate the country’s development activities. Of the total cost, BDT 4,437.82 crore will be financed by the government, BDT 1,225.36 crore will come from project loans, and BDT 2,670.09 crore will be covered by the respective agencies’ own funds.
The approval was granted at an ECNEC meeting held at the NEC conference room in the Planning Commission building on Wednesday, presided over by Chief Adviser and ECNEC Chairperson, Muhammad Yunus.
Attendees included Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, Finance and Science & Technology Adviser Saleh Uddin Ahmed, Home and Agriculture Adviser (Retd.) Lt. Gen. Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain, Liberation War Affairs and Disaster Management Adviser Farooq-e-Azam, Education Adviser Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrer, Industry and Housing Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Power and Energy Adviser Fawzul Kabir Khan, Environment and Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and other relevant officials.
Among the approved projects are the third amendment to the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs’ ‘Info Apa’ project, the modernization of laboratories and infrastructure development at Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology under the Ministry of Education, and several projects under the Ministry of Power and Energy, including the purchase of a 2000 horsepower rig, well drilling in the Shahbazpur and Bhola areas, and the modernization of the power distribution system in the NESCO area.
Additionally, the ‘Export Competitiveness for Jobs’ (3rd Revised) project of the Ministry of Commerce, the construction of multi-purpose cyclone shelters in coastal areas (3rd phase) under the Ministry of Disaster Management, and the Sheikh Hasina Specialized Jute Textile Mill and Jamuna Specialized Jute and Textile Mill projects under the Ministry of Textiles and Jute also received approval.
Three projects from the Ministry of Local Government were also approved: the Khulna Water Supply Project (Phase-2), a land acquisition and development project for waste management in Narayanganj City Corporation, and a project to improve the living standards of displaced people from Myanmar and local residents.
The expansion of Sylhet Osmani International Airport (1st Revised) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and the construction of multi-storied residential flats for government employees in Mirpur Paikpara under the Ministry of Housing, were also greenlit at the meeting.
The Planning Adviser informed the ECNEC about 13 other projects that were discussed and approved. These include the crop production cost survey-2025, establishment of a fish landing center in Derai upazila of Sunamganj, fisheries resource development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries project, modernization of equipment for the National Heart Foundation, a project to develop the country’s insurance sector, construction of a new circuit house in Pirojpur, establishment of a water purification plant at Ramu Cantonment, construction of officers’ residences at Sylhet Cantonment, production of high-tech jute and jute seeds, and the construction of a tourist center near the Mahananda Bridge in Chapainawabganj.
In total, the projects discussed and approved at the ECNEC meeting cover a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure development, power and energy, education and research, trade expansion, women’s empowerment, and disaster management. The government believes that the implementation of these projects will accelerate the country’s economic growth and have a positive impact on social development indicators.
