Bangladesh’s ministries and divisions spent only 1.85 per cent of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) allocation in the first two months of the current fiscal year, marking the slowest opening pace at least in the past five fiscal years.
According to the government’s latest ADP implementation progress report, development expenditure stood at Tk5,709.70 crore during July–August of FY27 against the annual allocation of Tk3,08,924.86 crore.
The execution rate was lower than the corresponding period of each of the previous four fiscal years, despite the FY27 ADP being the largest in the five-year comparison.
The first two months generally account for a smaller share of annual development spending as ministries complete project preparation, procurement and administrative processes.
However, the FY27 implementation pace remained below the levels recorded in recent years.
In FY26, ministries spent Tk5,714.83 crore during July–August against an annual ADP allocation of Tk2,38,696 crore, achieving an implementation rate of 2.39 per cent.
This means development spending in the first two months of FY27 was Tk5.13 crore lower than a year earlier, even though the annual allocation increased by Tk70,228.86 crore.
The government raised the FY27 ADP allocation to Tk3,08,924.86 crore from Tk2,38,696 crore in FY26.
The previous four fiscal years also recorded higher opening execution rates.
In FY25, ministries and divisions spent Tk7,143.08 crore in July–August, implementing 2.57 per cent of the annual allocation of Tk2,78,288.90 crore.
In FY24, agencies spent Tk10,541.80 crore, equivalent to 3.84 per cent of the Tk2,74,674.02 crore allocation.
In FY23, July–August development spending stood at Tk9,843.71 crore, or 3.85 per cent of the annual allocation of Tk2,56,000.27 crore.
The slowdown was also visible in August alone. Development expenditure during the month stood at Tk3,588.52 crore, representing 1.16 per cent of the FY27 ADP allocation.
In August FY26, agencies spent Tk4,070.18 crore, or 1.71 per cent of that year’s allocation.
August spending therefore declined by Tk481.67 crore year-on-year, while the monthly implementation rate fell by 0.25 percentage points.
Economists stressed government institutions’ capacity to spend the state money efficiently, while the risk of missing the government’s ambitious revenue target is high amid an economic slowdown.
Experts also urged higher revenue mobilisation through tax reforms as the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio fell to one of the lowest among peers.
