The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday, 29 September, approved 13 development projects with a combined cost of Tk 15,823.57 crore. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman chaired the meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka.
Of the total, Tk 10,188.33 crore will come from the government's own funds, Tk 5,252.96 crore from project loans and Tk 382.28 crore from the implementing organisations. One of the largest items is the Financial Sector Support Project-II, a Tk 1,276 crore scheme that Bangladesh Bank will run from July 2026 to June 2031 with World Bank financing. Most of its budget is earmarked for new ICT equipment and software to modernise banking supervision.
The committee also approved a third revision of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport expansion project, a digital land management programme for three city corporations, one municipality and two upazilas, flood management in the Feni and Bamni river basins, and Meghna riverbank protection in Bhola. Other schemes cover the first revision of Patuakhali Medical College and Hospital, training centres for persons with disabilities in Chattogram, Khulna and Rajshahi, and road improvements in Rangpur.
Power sector items include land acquisition for a solar power plant at Sonagazi and expansion of the electricity network in the three hill districts. A rural infrastructure project for Madaripur, Shariatpur and Rajbari and a health systems programme against tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria were also cleared.
Photo: CAPTAIN RAJU / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources: tbsnews.net
