UNB, Dhaka :The government on Tuesday approved six development projects involving over Tk 7839 crore and three of them are related to rural electrification to boost rural economy.The approval came at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the NEC conference room.Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters the government will contribute 5,441.54 crore, while Tk 2,397.69 crore will come as project assistance. Four projects are new and two are revised ones.Kamal said, that three rural electrification projects involve a cost of Tk 4,717.87 crore. This is part of government’s plan to reach electricity to every village by 2021.Under these three projects, 57 of a total of 72 Palli Bidyut Samities (PBS), under Rural Electrification Board (REB) will provide 11.50 lakh new connections.The projects are-Extension of Rural Electrification in Dhaka Division-II, Extension of Rural Electrification in Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions-II and Extension of Rural Electrification in Chittagong and Sylhet Divisions-II.Under the three electrification projects, 26,190 km of new transmission lines would be installed while 2,810 km of transmission lines would be rehabilitated or renovated in the five divisions.The REB is entrusted to implement the project by June, 2018, which will cover 43 districts in five divisions.Planning Ministry Officials said that the country needs a total of 3,26,263 km transmission lines to ensure electric connectivity to every village by 2021.
