The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved eight projects involving an expenditure of BDT 14,041 crore 21 lakh. Of this, the government’s own funding is BDT 10,494 crore 21 lakh, and project loans amount to BDT 3,550 crore 44 lakh.
The approval was granted at an ECNEC meeting held on Wednesday (July 22) at the Secretariat, chaired by the Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson, Tareq Rahman. Among these, three are new projects and five are revised projects.
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, Power Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, and Water Resources Minister Md. Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie were present at the meeting.
The eight approved projects are:
- Three projects under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives: (1) “Universal Social Infrastructure Development-2 (GSIDP-2) (1st Revised) Project,” (2) “Greater Dinajpur (Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh) District Integrated Development Project,” and (3) “Rural Road Maintenance and Employment Project.”
- One project under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief: “Construction, Renovation, and Development of Disaster Shelters Project (3rd Revised).”
- One project under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges: “Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway Construction Project (2nd Revised).”
- One project under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources: (1) “Power Distribution System Development Project, Sylhet Division (3rd Revised),” and (2) “Drilling of 1 Appraisal-cum-Development Well (Begumganj-5) and 2 Exploration Wells (Begumganj-6 and Sunetra-2) Project.”
- One project under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: “Upgradation of Existing Kidney Dialysis Centers in Medical College Hospitals to 50 Beds and Establishment of 10-Bed Kidney Dialysis Centers in District Sadar Hospitals (2nd Revised)” has been approved.
In the meeting, ECNEC was also informed about 11 projects costing less than BDT 50 crore, which had already been approved by the Planning Minister. These are:
- Establishment of 3 Regional Offices of National University (2nd Revised) Project.
- Establishment of Barisal Textile Vocational Institute, Gournadi, Barisal Project (2nd Revised).
- Establishment of Mobile Network in Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Third Terminal Project.
- Upgradation of Sirajganj urban section (from Shahid M. Mansur Ali Medical College to Kata Wapda Mor) of Nalka-Sirajganj-Sayedabad Regional Highway to 4 lanes and the remaining section to 2 lanes (2nd Revised) Project.
- Upgradation of Pirojpur-Nazirpur-Mativanga-Patgati-Ghonapara (Z-7704) District Highway from Ghonapara to Patgati Bridge Approach section, along with Z-8504, Z-8507, and Z-8429 District Highways to appropriate standard and width (1st Revised) Project.
- Construction of Bhuyapur Link Road (Z-4802) (2nd Revised) Project.
- Development of Transmission Infrastructure for Evacuation of Electricity Generated by Roopur Nuclear Power Plant (1st Revised) Project.
- Expansion and Capacity Enhancement of Eastern Grid Network (2nd Revised) Project.
- Establishment of 6 BITAC Centers in Gopalganj, Sunamganj, Barisal, Rangpur, Jamalpur, and Jashore Districts (2nd Revised) Project.