ECNEC approves 13 projects worth Tk 58,088 crore, including two new wells at Titas gas field

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved 13 development projects at a cost of Tk 58,088.92 crore. Of the approved projects, 11 are new and two are revised.

The projects were approved on Wednesday (4 November) at a meeting held in the Cabinet room of the Bangladesh Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman.

Of the total cost, government funding accounts for Tk 50,041 crore. Project loans and grants will provide Tk 7,974.65 crore, while the implementing agencies' own funding amounts to Tk 73.27 crore.

Five projects of the Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Ministry were approved at the meeting. They include safe water supply and sanitation in the Barendra region, restoration and re-excavation of canals in Barisal city, climate-resilient urban development and a social infrastructure development project. The third revision of the priority-based important rural infrastructure development project was also approved.

Two projects were approved under the Home Ministry to buy specialised and operational vehicles to enhance the capacity of the Bangladesh Police.

Also approved were a B-type housing project for army officers in the Mainul Road residential area of Dhaka Cantonment and a multi-storey residential building for government employees at Gabtala Colony in Jigatola in the capital.

Under the Science and Technology Ministry, Institutes of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) will be set up on the campuses of five medical college hospitals. The Primary and Mass Education Ministry's Fifth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-5) was also approved.

In the energy sector, a project was approved to drill two appraisal-cum-development wells, Titas-32 and Titas-33, at the Titas gas field. The third revision of the project to build bridges and culverts of up to 15 metres on rural roads was also approved.

The meeting was also informed about five more projects, each costing less than Tk 50 crore, that were approved by the Planning Minister.

Those five projects include modernisation of cardiac care at the Zia Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute in Dinajpur, ensuring safe internet use for children and secondary-level students, and improving traffic infrastructure and road safety in the Dhaka North City Corporation area.

The list also includes expansion and modernisation of the Dhaka Central Drug Addiction Treatment Centre and procurement of modern vehicles and machinery to improve waste management in Gazipur City Corporation.

Relevant ministers, state ministers, advisers and senior officials of various ministries and divisions attended the meeting.