The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved eight development projects involving an estimated cost of Tk 14,411.21 crore.
Of the total project cost, Tk 10,494.21 crore will come from the government's own funds, while Tk 3,550.44 crore will be financed through project loans.
The approvals came at an ECNEC meeting held at the Cabinet Division in the Bangladesh Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman.
Of the eight projects, three are new and five are revised.
The meeting was attended by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Industries, Textiles and Jute and Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md. Asaduzzaman, Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, Water Resources Minister Md. Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, State Minister for Planning Md. Jonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, and senior government officials.
Among the approved projects, three belong to the Local Government Division: the General Social Infrastructure Development-2 (GSIDP-2) (First Revised) project, the Greater Dinajpur (Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh) Integrated Development Project, and the Rural Road Maintenance and Employment Project.
Other approved schemes include the Disaster Shelter Construction, Renovation and Development Project (Third Revised) under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway Construction Project (Second Revised) under the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry; the Power Distribution System Development Project, Sylhet Division (Third Revised) and the Drilling of one appraisal-cum-development well (Begumganj-5) and two exploration wells (Begumganj-6 and Sunetra-2) under the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry; and the Kidney Dialysis Centre Expansion Project (Second Revised) under the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
The ECNEC meeting was also informed that Planning Minister Md. Jonayed Abdur Rahim Saki had approved 11 development projects, each costing less than Tk 50 crore, under delegated authority. The projects include regional offices for the National University, transport infrastructure, electricity transmission facilities, airport mobile network installation and vocational education institutes.
