The government has approved 10 projects involving Tk 4,247 crore, including the drilling of two exploratory wells at Dupitila and Kailastila under Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd.
The approvals came at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecenec) held at the NEC conference room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Wednesday with Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus in the chair.
Of the total project costs, Tk3,632 crore will be borne from the state coffer, while implementing agencies will provide Tk409 crore and the rest of Tk205 crore will come from foreign sources as project loans, Planning Adviser Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud told reporters after the meeting.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division will spend Tk646.46 crore for the drilling at Diputila-1 and Kailashtiila-8 wells during January 2025 to December 2026.
Of the estimated project expenditure, Tk416 crore will be provided by the government and the implementing agency will bear Tk231 crore cost.
Meanwhile, the Ecnec also approved “Pashur Channel Maintenance Dredging at Mongla Port project” with an estimated cost of Tk1,538 crore. The Ministry of Shipping will implement it by December 2029.
The Mongla Port Authority, the implementing agency, will provide Tk154 to the scheme from its own resources and Tk1,384 crore will come from the GoB fund.
The cost of the project to procure supporting vessels for Mongla Port rose by Tk169 crore to Tk937 from primarily estimated Tk767 crore after its first revision proposal got approval from the Ecnec.
Similarly, the cost of “Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Iron Bridges in Southern Region” project shot up by Tk439 crore to over Tk2,773 after approval of the second revision.
Two old ongoing schemes –Establishment of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System & Integrated Maritime Navigation System (EGIMNS), and Modern Food Storage Construction project — got nod for a proposal for fourth time revision, with the EGIMNS project seeing a cost hike by Tk114 crore and the second one by Tk69 crore.
To enhance agricultural production in Sylhet region through use of surface water, the government has launched a new project at an estimated cost of Tk500 crore.
A new project of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) got nod as well from the Ecnec meeting to construct a office building in Chattogram involving Tk437 crore.
The government seeks to spend Tk266 crore on a project to ensure sustainable nutrition security in the country through production of oil and pulse seeds.Another new project called “Construction of Bangladesh Buddhist Monastery Complex at Lumbini Conservation Area, Nepal” with Tk68 crore estimated project cost was also cleared at the Wednesday’s Ecnec meeting.
