The government is shifting toward revising and restructuring around 1,300 development projects approved under the previous administrations, opting for strategic adjustments rather than bulk cancellations.
To achieve this, the Project Review Committee is advising ministries to realign ongoing initiatives with the current administration’s election manifesto and policy priorities. Because significant state funds have already been spent, with many projects nearing completion, the committee notes that outright cancellations would result in massive financial waste.
Instead, they recommend project-by-project evaluations to eliminate redundant or incompatible activities while integrating new, relevant initiatives.
Upon taking office, the government formed a specialised review committee headed by Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, the prime minister’s adviser on finance and planning, to evaluate approximately 1,300 projects inherited from the previous regime.
According to Planning Division sources, this committee is currently holding a series of meetings with various ministries and divisions to assess project progress, evaluate financial requirements, and ensure alignment with the state’s new direction.
Departmental data highlights the scale of the review. As of June 2025, 244 projects were between 60% and 100% complete, 241 projects stood at 30% to 60% completion, and 665 projects remained below the 30% mark.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a member of the review committee told TIMES of Bangladesh that the administration’s core priorities focus heavily on education, health, and skill development.
While a preliminary review revealed that 20 to 30 projects diverge from these goals, many are scheduled for completion by next June. Consequently, the committee sees no practical reason to halt them.
However, projects with lower completion rates, particularly those below 30%, offer a prime opportunity for rescoping and repurposing. These early-stage initiatives are currently being debated in high-level meetings involving the state minister for planning, ministry advisers, ministers, and secretaries.
“If a project comprises ten activities and two or three do not align with current priorities, those specific components should be excluded and replaced,” the committee member explained. “We are not cancelling these projects; we are reshaping them through targeted revisions.”
The member also emphasised the economic impact of these decisions, noting that ongoing projects are vital for employment. Halting an entire initiative over a few mismatched components would be counterproductive.
By adjusting specific costs and restructuring unnecessary elements, the government aims to salvage the benefits of past expenditures while steering the country toward its updated socio-economic goals, he said.
Planning Division Secretary and committee member SM Shakil Akhtar confirmed that the project review is ongoing, with regular discussions taking place across various ministries. He said that projects nearing completion or in their final stages are being advised to proceed with necessary modifications.
Conversely, projects showing slower progress are being restructured in light of the current government’s election manifesto and policy priorities. This dual approach aims to minimise the wastage of state funds while ensuring the continuation of job creation and public welfare activities.
In the context of the review, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki said at a recent National Economic Council (NEC) meeting that projects with over 50% completion should be considered for continuation, given the significant investments already made. Meanwhile, projects with less than 30% implementation progress present a clear opportunity for re-evaluation.
Saki further noted that unauthorised or unapproved “green leaf” projects can be restructured to align with the current government’s priorities and electoral commitments.
Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty, former Secretary of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) at the Ministry of Planning, told TIMES that government project management provisions allow an initiative to be declared complete even if certain components remain unfinished, should circumstances require it.
However, he noted that this depends entirely on the social, economic, and national impact of leaving the remaining work unimplemented.
“If a major portion of a project is completed, but the desired benefits cannot be achieved without finishing the rest, it would be illogical to halt it,” Chakraborty said.
“For example, if the main structure of a bridge is built but the connecting roads are pending, stopping the project would render the bridge completely useless. Similarly, completing a hospital building without installing the necessary medical equipment and ancillary facilities would be of no use to the public.”
He added, “Conversely, there is a distinct opportunity to re-evaluate projects with very slow progress that do not align with the government’s electoral priorities or the public interest. If necessary, specific components can be eliminated or new elements added to bring the scheme in line with the election manifesto. I do not view this as an unreasonable approach.”
He said that the review committee must ultimately assess whether halting a project would negatively impact public, social, or state activities, and whether doing so would cause significant long-term damage.
The future of these projects, he argued, should be decided strictly on the merits of that assessment, he added.
