PM stresses speedy implementation of foreign funded projects

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked all ministries and divisions to complete the foreign aided and grant projects speedily with additional efforts, if required, to expedite the country's development spree further.

The premier gave the directives while chairing the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the NEC Conference Room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital on Thursday (May 16).

In the meeting, the NEC approved a Tk 2.65 lakh crore ADP for the next fiscal year (FY25), reports BSS.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Division Senior Secretary Satyajit Karmakar said that the PM also directed the authorities concerned to reappoint the project directors and other officials in their specialized areas after completion of their training in concerned fields.

Planning Minister Major General (retd) Abdus Salam, State Minister for Planning Md Shahiduzzaman Sarker, Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned attended the briefing.

Instead of not taking smaller projects, Satyajit said the premier advocated for taking district-based projects and thus entrusting the district-level officials for overseeing those projects.

The premier also directed the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) to take necessary steps to bring those firms who conduct feasibility study under a registration process so that quality feasibility study could be conducted in different fields.

Planning Minister Abdus Salam said since most of the projects are taken as upazila-based for which lack of coordination was seen to some extent. It was proposed in the meeting to take district-wise projects and the NEC discussed it positively.

He said that the members of parliament would be engaged in framing the district-wise participatory master plan up to five years for the districts while those would be made realistic. Even the upazila chairmen will be involved in the process, added the minister.

Replying to a question, the planning minister said the ultimate goal of the government is to ensure that no one leaves behind adding that the government is trying to minimize the 'lagging behind' term in the development process.

Planning Secretary Satyajit Karmakar said the Prime Minister has directed the Planning Commission to enforce strict monitoring so that the ADP implementation becomes better in the next fiscal year.

He said that the budget for the next fiscal year (FY25) aims to control inflation through ensuring coordination between the monetary policy and fiscal policy.

Satyajit said it would be better for the government to utilize as much as foreign loans and grants by 2026 to expedite the development process as the country would be losing many of its existing facilities in 2026 due to its LDC graduation.

IMED Secretary Abul Kashem Md Mohiuddin said that the Prime Minister has reminded of all secretaries of concerned ministries and divisions that they need to do more to further increase the implementation rate of development projects.

He also informed that the ADP implementation rate during the July-April period of the current fiscal year (FY24) is 49.26 percent which was 50.33 percent in the same period of the previous fiscal year (FY23).