The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved eight development projects involving an estimated cost of Tk 14,041.21 crore, with a strong focus on infrastructure, energy, and public services expansion.
The approval came at an ECNEC meeting held at the Bangladesh Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman.
Of the total project cost, Tk 10,494.21 crore will be financed from the government’s own resources, while Tk 3,550.44 crore will come from foreign loans, according to the Planning Ministry.
Mix of new and revised projects
Of the approved schemes, three are new while five are revised, reflecting continued adjustments in ongoing development initiatives.
Key projects include the integrated development of greater Dinajpur, rural road maintenance and employment generation, construction and upgrading of disaster shelters, and the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway.
The ECNEC also approved a project to improve the power distribution system in Sylhet division, alongside a gas exploration initiative involving drilling of one appraisal-cum-development well (Begumganj-5) and two exploratory wells (Begumganj-6 and Sunetra-2).
Health sector expansion
In the health sector, a revised project aims to upgrade existing kidney dialysis centres at medical college hospitals to 50-bed facilities.
Additionally, new 10-bed dialysis centres will be established at district-level hospitals to expand access to critical treatment services.
Local government projects dominate
Three of the approved projects fall under the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Ministry. These include the Universal Social Infrastructure Development-2 (first revised), the Greater Dinajpur integrated development project, and the rural road maintenance and employment programme.
Other approvals went to projects under the disaster management, road transport, power and energy, and health ministries.
Small projects also noted
The meeting was also informed about 11 smaller projects—each costing less than Tk 50 crore—approved earlier by the planning minister under delegated authority.
These include initiatives such as setting up regional offices of the National University, establishing a textile vocational institute in Barishal, installing mobile network facilities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s third terminal, and expanding power transmission infrastructure linked to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
The meeting was attended by Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, and other cabinet members, alongside senior government officials.