TDS Desk:

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved 12 projects with an outlay of Tk 81.49 billion (Tk 8,149.38 crore).

Of this, government financing is Tk 8,058.77 crore, project loan is Tk 143.33 crore, and the organisation’s own financing is Tk 52.72 crore.

These included six new projects, four revised projects and two projects with extension of period without an increase in any cost.

The approval was given at the ECNEC meeting held on Sunday at the NEC Conference Room at the Planning Commission premises with Chief Advisor and ECNEC Chairperson Dr. Muhammad Yunus in the chair.

Planning Advisor  Wahiduddin Mahmud, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Advisor  Asif Nazrul, Home Affairs and Agriculture Advisor Lieutenant General (retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and Industry and Housing and Public Works Advisor Adilur Rahman Khan; and Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Road Transport and Bridges and Railways Advisor Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Water Resources Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hassan were present in the meeting, among others.

The 12 projects approved in the meeting are: Construction of Road from Kalurghat Bridge to Chaktai Canal along the banks of Karnaphuli River (2nd Revised 4th Time Extension)” project, Establishment of 20 (12 new and 08 reconstruction of fire stations) Fire Service and Civil Defense Stations at important places of the country”, “Development of Logistics and Freight Maintenance Facilities for Bangladesh Coast Guard (Proposed 2nd Revised)”, “Rural Sanitation Project”, “Drilling of Canal from Bahaddarhat Badraipara to Karnaphuli River” (3rd Revised).

The other projects are— “Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Railway Lines of Eastern Zone of Bangladesh Railways, “Construction of Officers’ Mess and BOQ of DSCSC at Mirpur Cantonment” (1st revised)”, “Further Development of Dhaka University”, “Income Generating (IGA) Training for Women at Upazila Level (2nd Phase)”, “Expansion of Museum Building of Bangladesh Folk and Crafts Foundation and Construction of Other Infrastructure” (1st revised 4th time increase)”, “Strengthening of Kandal Crop Research Project”, and “Smart Pre-payment Metering Project in Distribution Zones of BPDB (1st revised)”.

The meeting informed the ECNEC members about the 18 projects already approved by the Planning Advisor.

These are— Rural Road Rehabilitation Project (2nd Revised), Hilsa Resource Development and Management (2nd Revised) Project, Pesticide Risk Reduction in Bangladesh (2nd Revised) Project, Expansion of Fish Farming Technology Services at Union Level (3rd Phase) Project, Elephant Conservation Project, Construction of Flood Shelters in Flood-Prone and Erosion-Prone Areas (3rd Phase) (2nd Revised), Capacity Building of Bangladesh Safe Food Authority (2nd Revised).

The others are— Essential Management Support Project of Gazipur Safari Park, Enhancement of Farm Machinery Research Activities for Mechanized Paddy Cultivation (2nd Revised), Expansion of GNSS CORS Network Coverage and Modernization of Tidal Stations (2nd Revised), Infrastructure development of Talna area adjacent to 300 feet Purbachal Road of Ward No. 43 under Dhaka North City Corporation, Integrated urban infrastructure development of Rajshahi metropolis (1st revised), Construction of Ansar and Village Defense Force armories (40 in the first phase) (2nd revised), Infrastructure development and expansion of Bangladesh Navy Dockyard Technical Institute in Chittagong, Feni Municipality Infrastructure Development Project (2nd revised) 16. Reconstruction of Jamalpur District Jail (1st revised), Establishment of Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (2nd revised) and Collection and preservation of audio-visual documents of the student-people’s mass uprising-2024 from domestic and foreign sources.

The ECNEC also changed the names of two projects, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo theatre, Barisal Establishment (2nd Revised), instead of Novo theatre, Barisal Establishment (2nd Revised) and Irrigation Development Project in Kushtia, Meherpur and Chuadanga districts, instead of Mujibnagar Irrigation Development Project (2nd Revised).