Dhaka: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved a total of 17 projects involving an overall estimated cost of Taka 8,974.28 crore. The approvals were granted during an ECNEC meeting chaired by its Chairperson and Chief Adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, held at the NEC Conference Room on the Planning Commission premises in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, of the approved 17 projects, 11 are new and 5 are revised, while one project received a time extension without any expenditure. Of the total estimated project cost of Taka 8,974.28 crore, Taka 3,180.34 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh portion, Taka 5,563.43 crore as a project loan, and the remaining Taka 230.51 crore from the concerned organization's own fund, as mentioned in an official release.
The approved projects include the Upazila Complex Expansion Project, Integrated services and livelihood improvement for forcibly displaced Rohingyas and the host community, and construction of drug addiction cure and rehabilitation centers in divisional cities. Other projects focus on enhancing marine academies, improving access to justice for women, expanding international telecommunication systems, and establishing new buffer godowns for fertilizer preservation.
Additionally, several projects aim at strengthening public services, such as the Improvement of Public Investment Management System (IPIMS), Procurement Modernization to Improve Public Service Delivery (PMIPSD), and Strengthening Public Audit Through Digital Transformation and Capacity Enhancement (SPADTEC). These projects, along with others like the Statistical Capacity Enhancement and Modernization Project (SCEMP), are set to enhance transparency and accountability through the Strengthening Institution For Transparency and Accountability (SITA) funded by the World Bank.
The meeting also reviewed 15 previously approved projects by the Planning Adviser. Advisers concerned, along with Planning Commission members and secretaries, were present at the gathering.