Dhaka: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) recently approved ten projects but decided to put two others on hold to assess potential duplication and overlapping activities with existing projects.
According to United News of Bangladesh, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki announced this decision during a briefing after the ECNEC meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. One of the suspended projects involves acquiring two product oil tankers with capacities ranging from 4,000 to 55,000 deadweight tonnes, with an estimated cost of Tk 1,457.80 crore from government funds. The project was deferred as the government is evaluating its potential overlap with another initiative that involves purchasing four similar vessels. This initiative was part of a memorandum of understanding signed during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to China.
The Planning Ministry is actively collaborating with various ministries to identify similar projects, eliminate duplication, and merge them into coordinated initiatives where feasible. Saki explained that the review process is in its advanced stages, and the tanker project will be reconsidered once it is thoroughly examined alongside the similar project to avoid duplication.
The second project placed on hold is the ‘Metro Dhaka Project: Goran Chatbari Retention Pond and Turag River Protection and Conservation Project’, managed by the Ministry of Water Resources and implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board. This project has an estimated cost of Tk 567.04 crore, which includes a World Bank loan of Tk 424.73 crore and government funding of Tk 142.31 crore. The state minister indicated that this project was deferred due to an ongoing initiative aimed at developing an integrated plan that encompasses the rivers and water bodies from the Turag to the Buriganga in Dhaka.
Preliminary assessments suggest that around 11 projects are currently operating in various capacities in this area. The government aims to coordinate these projects and prevent duplication. The state minister emphasized that the government intends to establish a comprehensive plan for Dhaka’s overall water management and water bodies before making a final decision on the project.
Both deferred projects will undergo further meetings and reviews before being presented for approval again. Additionally, the state minister mentioned that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman unveiled two volumes of a five-year strategic framework prepared by the General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Ministry. The framework, initiated by the GED after the government assumed office, was drafted and approved on May 18 and subsequently endorsed by the Prime Minister at a meeting of the National Economic Council. The framework is now finalized and officially unveiled.