The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved eight development projects involving an estimated cost of Tk14,041.21 crore.
Of the total allocation, Tk10,494.21 crore will be financed from the government’s own resources, while Tk3,550.44 crore will come through project loans.
The approvals came at an ECNEC meeting held at the Cabinet Room of the Bangladesh Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman.
The approved projects include three new initiatives and five revised ones across the local government, disaster management, transport, power, and health sectors.
Among the major approvals is the second revision of the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway Construction Project under the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry.
The committee also cleared the third revision of the Power Distribution System Development Project for Sylhet Division and approved a project to drill one evaluation-cum-development well (Begumganj-5) and two exploration wells (Begumganj-6 and Sunetra-2).
In the health sector, ECNEC approved the second revision of a project to upgrade kidney dialysis centres at medical college hospitals to 50-bed facilities and establish 10-bed dialysis centres at district headquarters hospitals.
Under the Local Government and Rural Development Division, the committee approved three projects- the first revision of the General Social Infrastructure Development Project-2 (GSIDP-2), the Greater Dinajpur (Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh) District Integrated Development Project, and the Rural Road Maintenance and Employment Project.
The Disaster Management and Relief Ministry secured approval for the third revision of a project involving the construction, renovation and development of disaster shelters.
The meeting was attended by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury; Local Government, Rural Development Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir; Industries, Textiles and Jute, and Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman; Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed; Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu; Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood; and Water Resources Minister Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee.
State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, and senior government officials also attended the meeting.
Separately, the committee was informed about 11 projects, each involving less than Tk50 crore, that had already been approved by the planning minister under delegated authority.
These projects include the second revision of the National University’s initiative to establish three regional offices, the Barishal Textile Vocational Institute project in Gournadi, installation of a mobile network at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s Third Terminal, and the second revision of the Nalka-Sirajganj-Saydabad Regional Highway upgrading project.
The list also includes road development projects in Pirojpur-Nazirpur-Ghonapara and the Bhuapur Link Road, the first revision of the power transmission infrastructure project for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the second revision of the Eastern Grid Network expansion project, and the second revision of the project to establish six Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Centre (BITAC) centres in Gopalganj, Sunamganj, Barishal, Rangpur, Jamalpur and Jashore.
