The government is redrawing the country’s development priorities, putting thousands of public projects under fresh scrutiny to ensure that every taka spent reflects its election promises and delivers tangible economic benefits.
Under new guidelines for the revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for FY2026-27, ministries have been told to rethink their project portfolios, drop less important schemes and merge smaller projects with similar objectives.
The Planning Commission has made it clear that new projects must align with the BNP government’s election manifesto and its Five-Year Strategic Framework, with job creation, economic returns and efficient use of public funds taking centre stage.
In a significant shift from previous practices, the commission has introduced “rescoping” and “repurposing” of existing and proposed projects, signalling a broader effort to reshape public investment around the government’s political commitments and development priorities.
Projects that fail to meet these requirements will not be considered for inclusion in the revised ADP.
The new approach comes amid longstanding concerns over project delays, cost overruns and weak implementation, as the government seeks to ensure that development spending produces measurable results rather than merely expanding the number of projects.
The guidelines describe the government’s goal as building “a sustainable, people-friendly economy” and link the framework to the election manifesto’s commitments to reform, accountability and institutional development.
For FY27, development projects must fall under four broad priorities: socio-economic development and sustainable state capacity, economic restructuring and recovery, balanced regional development, and religion, society, sports, culture and solidarity.
Within these areas, priority will be given to projects that generate employment, expand economic opportunities, improve returns on public investment and support creative industries.
Other priority sectors include social protection, agriculture and food security, information and communication technology, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, river dredging, canal excavation, waterlogging management, climate adaptation, good governance, institutional reform and the blue economy.
Under the new guidelines, ministries must consolidate project proposals from their agencies into a manageable number of programmes and submit them in clusters.
Agencies will no longer be allowed to submit multiple small projects with similar objectives separately.
Planning Secretary SM Shakil Akhter said the initiative was aimed at improving the effectiveness of development spending and addressing longstanding problems of project delays, weak implementation and inefficient use of public resources.
“The move comes as the government seeks to improve the effectiveness of development spending and address longstanding concerns about delays, weak implementation and the inefficient use of public resources,” he said.
He added that the guidelines would help align public investment with the government’s policy commitments, improve project selection and ensure measurable development outcomes. The commission has also tightened project screening requirements.
No project costing more than Tk50 crore can be recommended without a completed feasibility study, while smaller projects may also require feasibility assessments.
Projects involving lengthy land acquisition processes must treat land acquisition as a separate project.
Routine operational activities and projects that could reasonably be undertaken by the private sector must be excluded from the development programme.
New projects previously included in the ADP without any allocation must also be submitted afresh for consideration.
The guidelines place particular emphasis on climate resilience and environmental sustainability.
Projects must comply with the government’s Green Climate Resilient Development guidelines, while those aligned with the National Adaptation Plan, Nationally Determined Contributions and Delta Plan 2100 will receive priority.
Climate adaptation projects must identify potential financing from sources such as the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund.
All proposed projects must also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Under the revised approval process, each ministry’s project screening committee, headed by its secretary, must review and recommend proposals before they are forwarded to the Planning Commission.
Projects without the committee’s recommendation will not be considered. All proposals must be submitted through the commission’s online ADP management system.
The commission has also set strict deadlines for submitting and reviewing proposals.
Implementing agencies must submit their proposals to the respective ministries by 28 October, while ministries must forward them to the commission’s sector divisions by 5 November.
The sector divisions must complete their reviews and submit recommendations by 12 November.
In May, the National Economic Council (NEC) approved a Tk3 lakh crore ADP for FY27, the first time the programme’s allocation has crossed the Tk3 lakh crore mark.
Of the total, Tk1.90 lakh crore will come from domestic resources and Tk1.10 lakh crore from project assistance provided by development partners.
Including self-financed projects of autonomous bodies, the overall development outlay stands at Tk3.09 lakh crore.