The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved a total of 12 development projects including a revised one to raise the cost of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Construction by Tk 2412.13 crore and extend the timeframe till June 2024, reports UNB.
The overall estimated cost of the 12 projects is Tk 19,598.84 crore. Only additional costs of four revised projects were counted here.
The approval came from the Ecnec meeting chaired by its chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-e Banglanagar area.
“A total of 15 projects were placed before today's meeting. Of them, 12 projects got approval and two were deferred. And the rest one got time extension only,” said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing reporters.
Of the 12 approved projects, eight are new and the rest four are revised ones.
Among the total estimated cost, Tk 13,203.66 crore will come from the foreign sources as project assistance, while Tk 6,260.72 crore from the GoB fund and the rest Tk 134.46 crore from the fund of an organisation concerned, said the Planning Secretary Satyajit Karmaker.
Regarding the reasons behind the rise of cost of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Construction Project, member of Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian said the VAT rate has risen to 15 percent now from 10 percent as well as the prices of construction materials for river trainings and the price of dollar went up.
As per the project factsheet, the main work of Padma Bridge project has already been completed. But now the revision of the project is required to complete the remaining ancillary works and the payment of contractors’ dues. So, the project can be approved under this consideration, he said.
In terms of cost, the largest three new projects approved in the Ecnec meeting are “Programme on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship and Resilience in Bangladesh Project,” involving an estimated cost of Tk 6,910.94 crore; “Bangladesh Road Safety Project” with Tk 4,988.14 crore; and “Collection of 2 Crude Oil Mother Tankers and 2 Mother Bulk Carrier Ships on the basis of G2G Project” with Tk 2,620.77 crore.
In the Ecnec meeting, the Prime Minister directed the authorities concerned to ensure the facilities in the country’s jails to run the virtual court.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
