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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has expressed dissatisfaction with the repeated tendency to extend project durations and increase costs. He stated that those responsible for these repeated project extensions must be identified and brought under punishment.
On Tuesday (June 9), a total of 10 projects, with an estimated cost of BDT 3,890.97 crore, were approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) chaired by the Prime Minister. Of this, BDT 3,810.62 crore will come from government funding, and BDT 80.35 crore from the agencies’ own funds.
During the meeting, when the third amendment proposal for the ‘Khulna Shipyard Road Widening and Development’ project was presented, the Prime Minister expressed annoyance due to repeated extensions of its deadline. Subsequently, the project was sent back from ECNEC without approval. At the same time, he instructed to identify the responsible parties.
The Prime Minister also directed to reduce project costs, remarking that expenses in many projects were unusually high. Furthermore, he expressed displeasure over inconsistencies in the rate schedules of various agencies, including the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and the Public Works Department (PWD), urging their swift unification.
The Prime Minister also emphasized tree planting along roads during the meeting. He noted that once, Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Bogura highways had abundant trees, which contributed to enhancing the environment and aesthetics. However, he specifically instructed against planting Eucalyptus and Ipil-ipil trees alongside roads.
Among the approved projects, the largest is the regional highway development project from Anwara in Chattogram to Eidmoni in Cox’s Bazar. Additionally, the Barishal Irrigation Project Rehabilitation, Integrated Upazila Land Complex Construction, Mymensingh City Corporation Building Construction, Lift Installation in Circuit Houses of 33 Districts, and Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute Expansion projects also received approval.
Furthermore, the construction of a Cancer Center at Dhaka CMH, the Madrasah Education Management Information Technology Project, the establishment of multimedia classrooms in 653 madrasahs, and a revised project to increase the capacity of national grid substations and transmission lines were also approved.
The ECNEC was also informed about six other projects costing less than BDT 50 crore, which include projects for water supply, waste management, postal service expansion, prevention of child marriage, and establishment of agricultural colleges.