The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved 14 projects involving an overall cost of Tk 18,483 crore.
The approval came from the Ecnec meeting held at the NEC conference room here with Ecnec Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. “A total of 14 projects were approved yesterday involving an overall cost of Tk 18,482.92 crore,” Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said while briefing reporters after the meeting. Of the total estimated cost, Tk 16,370.81 crore will come from government funds, while Tk 95 crore from the own funds of the agencies concerned, and Tk 2,017.11 crore as project assistance, the minister said.
Among the projects, nine are new projects and the remaining five are revised ones.
In terms of cost, the big projects are ‘Development of Selected Non-Government Secondary Schools Project’ with estimated cost of Tk 10,649.05 crore, ‘Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP): LGED Part’ with the cost of Tk 1,618.10 crore, Construction of Flood Shelter Centres at Flood and River Erosion-prone Area (3rd phase) with the cost of Tk 1,507.43 crore and Greater Chittagong Rural Infrastructure Development Project-3 with the estimated cost of Tk 1,290 crore.
The Education Engineering Department (EED) under the Secondary and Higher Education Division will implement the project ‘Development of Selected Non-Government Secondary Schools’ by June 2020 aiming to fulfill the growing demand of secondary-level students alongside creating a proper environment for education there, said the Planning Minister. The project will ensure the development of infrastructures of these 3,000 vulnerable secondary schools, he said. Noting that the number of students at the secondary level is some 91 lakh (91,60,365), the minister said the huge number of students are studying in 327 government secondary schools and 19,357 non-government secondary schools. So, it is essential to increase classrooms in the schools to ensure education for all students, he added. Under the project, academic buildings and other necessary infrastructures will be constructed in the 3,000 selected non-government secondary schools across the country alongside ensuring the supply of necessary furniture for the institutions. The ‘Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP): LGED Part’ was revised for the third time which will be implemented by June 2018 in 64 upazilas under Barisal and Khulna divisions. The initial project period was August 2008-June 2013.
The Construction of Flood Shelter Centres at Flood and River Erosion-prone Area (3rd phase) will be implemented from June 2018 to June 2022 in 247 Upazilas under the country’s six divisions-Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Chittagong and Khulna. The Greater Chittagong Rural Infrastructure Development Project-3 will be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department by June 2022 in 23 upazilas of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar districts aiming to mobilise farm and non-farm activities and rural economy, and improve road networks connected with healthcare centres, educational institutions and other service providing agencies. Under the project, Upazila roads, Union roads and village roads will be developed, while rural bridges and culverts will be constructed alongside development of other infrastructures.
The other approved projects approved at the Ecnec meeting are ‘Priority Rural Water Supply Project’ at an estimated cost of Tk 874.17 crore, ‘Construction of 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge under Bandar Upazila in Narayanganj (1st revised) at the cost of Tk 599.28 crore, Widening of Chapapur-Barura, Nimsar-Barura and Khajuria-Barura District Highways (in Barura upazila of Comilla) at the cost of Tk 157.87 crore and Construction of seven RAB complexes (2nd revised) with Tk 599.08 crore.
The approved projects also include Construction of District Relief Godown-cum-Disaster Management Information Centres at an estimated cost of Tk 127.41 crore, River Mohananda Dredging and Construction of Rubber Dam at the cost of Tk 159.97 crore, Construction of Factory for Ensuring Multipurpose Use of Milk Alongside Improvement of Variety of Livestock at the Greater Faridpur Char Areas and Other Adjoining Areas Project with Tk 344.19 crore. The remaining projects are Construction of Multi-Storey Building for Cox’s Bazar Development Authority at the cost of Tk 112.37 crore, Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredient (API) Industrial Park (3rd revised) at the cost of Tk 381 crore, and Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP): Project Coordination and Monitoring Unit (PCMU) Part (3rd revised) at an estimated cost of Tk 63 crore.
