The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) has approved eight projects with a total estimated cost of Tk14,041.21 crore, where nearly Tk10,000 crore of the expenditure is attributed solely to cost escalations in five revised projects.
Out of the approved schemes, three are new and five are revised. The additional funding required for the five revised projects stands at approximately Tk9,941.94 crore, accounting for nearly 71 per cent of the total approved outlay.
The meeting was held on Wednesday at the Secretariat, presided over by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman.
Of the total expenditure, Tk10,494.31 crore will be provided from the government’s own funds, while Tk3,550.44 crore will be sourced through project loans.
Major cost hikes
According to the Planning Commission, the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway construction project has seen the most significant jump in expenditure.
Originally approved in 2017 with a budget of Tk16,901.32 crore, the cost rose to Tk17,553 crore in the first revision.
In this second revision, the cost has surged by nearly 50 per cent, bringing the total project cost to Tk27,045.68 crore. This includes an increase of Tk5,942.19 crore in government funding and Tk3,550.44 crore in foreign loans.
The Universal Social Infrastructure Development-2 (First Revision) project also saw a cost increase of Tk368 crore, or approximately 36 per cent.
Originally budgeted at Tk1,082 crore in March 2022, the cost has been raised to Tk1,450 crore to accommodate an expanded scope of 15,571 new social and religious structures, bringing the total to 32,892.
Additionally, the project to establish Kidney Dialysis Centres at medical college and district hospitals (Second Revision) saw its budget rise by Tk81.31 crore. Its initial 2020 cost of Tk255.22 crore was first increased to Tk294 crore and has now reached Tk375.47 crore.
Expenditure cuts
In contrast, two projects saw their budgets reduced. The Disaster Shelter Construction, Renovation and Development project (Third revision) was slashed by Tk1,023.31 crore.
Originally approved at Tk1,957 crore in 2018, the budget has been brought down to Tk880 crore after officials “trimmed” various project components.
Similarly, the Sylhet Division Power Distribution System Development project (Third Revision) saw a reduction of Tk117.41 crore.
New initiatives
Ecnec gave the green light to three new projects: the Integrated Development of Greater Dinajpur (Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh) project worth Tk1,492 crore; the Rural Road Maintenance and Employment project worth Tk2,082 crore; and the drilling of one evaluation-cum-development well (Begumganj-5) and two exploratory wells (Begumganj-6 and Sunetra-2) project worth Tk729 crore.
The committee was also informed about 11 projects costing less than Tk50 crore each that were approved by the planning minister.
The revised projects are- the Establishment of Three Regional Offices of the National University (Second Revision) project; the Establishment of Barishal Textile Vocational Institute, Gournadi, Barishal (Second Revision) project; the Installation of Mobile Network at the Third Terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport project; the Upgrading of the Sirajganj Town Section of the Nalka–Sirajganj–Saidabad Regional Highway from Shaheed M Mansur Ali Medical College to Kata WAPDA Mor to Four Lanes and the Remaining Section to Two Lanes (Second Revision) project.
The list continues to the Upgrading of the Ghonapara-to-Patgati Bridge Approach Section of the Pirojpur–Nazirpur–Mativanga–Patgati–Ghonapara (Z-7704) District Highway, along with the Z-8504, Z-8507 and Z-8429 District Roads, to Appropriate Standards and Width (First Revision) project; and the Construction of the Bhuapur Link Road (Z-4802) (Second Revision) project.
The remaining projects includes the Development of transmission infrastructure for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (First Revision) project, the expansion and capacity enhancement of the Eastern Grid Network (Second Revision) project, and the establishment of six BITAC centres in Gopalganj, Sunamganj, Barishal, Rangpur, Jamalpur and Jashore (Second Revision) project.
