PM Tarique Rahman chairs ECNEC meeting at secretariat

Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairman Tarique Rahman is chairing a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the Bangladesh Secretariat, with development project proposals on the agenda.

The meeting began at 10am in the Cabinet Room of the Secretariat, according to the Prime Minister’s Office Tuesday (September 29).

The committee is expected to review the progress of ongoing development programmes, consider new projects and examine proposals for revisions to existing projects.

A detailed briefing on the decisions is scheduled for 3pm at the Planning Ministry, where State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki is expected to brief reporters.

The meeting comes nearly two weeks after the previous ECNEC session on September 16, when the committee approved 12 projects involving an estimated Tk 1,68,780.40 crore. The package included three major metro rail projects and a plan to introduce electric commuter trains on the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Joydebpur route.

Among the major approvals was the Tk 45,503.76 crore MRT Line-5 Southern Route, a 17.2-kilometre corridor from Gabtali to Dasherkandi, including 13.1 kilometres of underground track. The project is to receive Tk 15,197.66 crore in government funding, with the remainder coming through loans from the Asian Development Bank and South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund.

The September 16 meeting also approved revised costs for MRT Line-1 and MRT Line-5 Northern Route, as well as a Tk 3,822.51 crore project to introduce electric traction on the Dhaka-Narayanganj-Joydebpur section.

The outcome of Tuesday’s meeting is expected to be announced at the afternoon briefing.