The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved a total of 13 development projects involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 8,333.28 crore, including two projects in the energy sector for facilitating gas exploration.
The approval came from a meeting of the ECNEC with Chief Adviser and ECNEC Chairperson Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus in the chair at the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
Of the total projects cost, Tk 4,437.82 crore will come from the government’s fund, Tk 1,225.36 crore as project assistance, while the remaining Tk 2,670.09 crore will be borne from the concerned organization’s own funds.
Among the approved schemes, seven are new projects, five are revised ones, while one project got an extension of duration without increasing cost.
Speaking about the energy sector projects, the Planning Adviser said that the government has been trying its best to explore more wells through enhancing the capacity of BAPEX.
Besides, the government also wants to reduce its LNG import dependency, he added.
The projects approved in the meeting are: Procurement of a 2,000 HP rig with Tk 577.23 crore; Drilling of four evaluation cum development wells in Shahbazpur and Bhola and one exploration well in Shahbazpur with Tk 1,555.66 crore, Modernization of Nesco’s electricity network infrastructure development and power distribution system with Tk 1,184.43 crore; Empowerment of Women through ICT (Phase-2, 3rd revised) under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs with an additional cost of Tk 57.86 crore; Modernization of research labs and infrastructure development at Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), Gazipur with Tk 866.55 crore; Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J, 3rd revised) under the Commerce Ministry with a reduced cost of Tk 158.9 crore.
Besides, the other approved projects are: Construction of multipurpose cyclone shelters in coastal areas (Phase-3) under the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry with Tk 636.09 crore; Sheikh Hasina Specialized Jute Textile Mill (1st Revised for Completion)” renamed as “Jamuna Specialized Jute and Textile Mill (1st Revised)” under the Textiles and Jute Ministry with a reduced cost of Tk 479.03 crore; Khulna Water Supply Project (Phase-2) with Tk 2,598.59 crore; Land acquisition and development for solid waste management initiative at Kodomrosul in Narayanganj City Corporation, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 106.08 crore; Integrated Service and Livelihood for Displaced People from Myanmar and Host Communities Improvement Project (LGED part) with Tk 600 crore; Sylhet Osmani International Airport Expansion (Phase-1, 1st revised) with an additional cost of Tk 470.87 crore and Construction of multi-storey flats for government officials and employees at Mirpur Paikpara, Dhaka (1st revised, 4th extension) with a reduced cost of Tk 1.25 crore.
Besides, the ECNEC meeting was also apprised about 11 projects which were earlier approved by the Planning Adviser.