ECNEC approves 13 projects worth Tk 12,532 crore

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved 13 projects worth Tk 12,532 crore.

The approval was given at an ECNEC meeting held on Sunday (February 2) at the NEC Conference Room on the Planning Commission premises under the chairmanship of Chief Advisor and ECNEC Chairperson Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

At the end of the meeting, Planning Adviser Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud said that 13 projects worth Tk 12,532 crore 28 lakh were approved in the ECNEC meeting. Of this, government financing is Tk 4,972 crore 23 lakh, project loan is Tk 7,328 crore 95 lakh and the organization's own financing is Tk 1,106 crore 10 lakh.

Stating that the government has taken up the project to increase the capacity of Mongla Port due to China's interest, he said that Mongla Port will be developed as a regional hub. For this, the capacity of the container terminal at Mongla Port will be increased. China is providing a loan of Tk 3,600 crore for the implementation of this project.

The approved projects are: 'North Kattali Catchment Sanitation of Chittagong Metropolitan City' project of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; 'Expansion and Development of Mongla Port Facilities' project of the Ministry of Shipping. 'Improved Seed Production and Development Project of Paddy, Wheat and Maize (Phase 3)' project of the Ministry of Agriculture and 'Modernization and Development of Existing Seed Production, Processing and Distribution Systems of BADC (Phase 2)' project of the Ministry of Food; 'Food Safety Testing Capacity Development' project of the Ministry of Food.

5 projects of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources are 'Drilling of 4 appraisal-cum-development wells in Titas and Kamta fields' project, '3-D seismic survey in Habiganj, Bakhrabad and Meghna fields' project, 'Drilling of Sylhet-12 well (oil well)' project, 'Ghorashal 4th unit re-powering (3rd revised)' project and 'Development of power distribution system, Chittagong zone (2nd phase) (2nd revised)' project. 'Strengthened Service Delivery systems for Improved Migration Management and Sustainable Reintegration' project of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment; The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education's 'Establishment and Beautification of Government Primary Schools in Dhaka Metropolitan and Purbachal (1st Revised)' project and the Department of Information and Communication Technology's 'Establishment of Digital Labs in Educational Institutions (2nd Phase) (Proposed 2nd Revised)' project.

In addition, the proposal for the 4th extension of the Narayanganj City Corporation's Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Management (2nd Revised) project was passed in the meeting.

The meeting informed the ECNEC members about the 4 projects already approved by the Honorable Planning Advisor. They are- 1) Capacity Building of the Department of Livestock (2nd Revised) Project, 2) Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation and Management in the North-east and South-West Region if Bangladesh-USID Ecosystems/Protibesh (DoF component) Project, 3) Char Development and Settlement Project-Bridging (CDSP-B) (2nd Revised) Project, 4) History of Old Dhaka Central Jail, Preservation of Historical Buildings and Surrounding Development (1st Revised) Project.