The approval came from the weekly Ecnec meeting held at the NEC conference room with Ecnec Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Planning Minister MA Mannan briefed reporters after the meeting.
The projects include Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) of LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry, Construction of Chancery Complex in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia under Foreign Ministry, Upgradation and Rxpansion of Important Tegional Highways (Rangpur zone, 1st revised), Development of Darshana-Mujibnagar Regional Highway and construction of Chashara-Khanpur-Hajiganj-Godanile-Adamjee EPZ Road of Road Transport and Bridges Ministry.
Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, secretaries of the ministries concerned and high official concerned were present at the meeting.
The Ecnec approved the 1st revision of the Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project with an estimated cost of Tk 3,170.76 crore aiming to protect the people of coastal areas from various natural calamities, the planning minister said.
Of the total project cost, Tk 1,476.04 crore will come from the state exchequer while the rest as project assistance, he said.
Mannan said some 556 cyclone shelters are being built under the project which will be mainly used for conducting activities of primary education and other academic purposes.
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the meeting asked the authorities concerned to ensure necessary access roads, reservoirs for preserving rainwater, toilets and storerooms in those cyclone centres to ensure maximum facilities for the beneficiaries.
Under the project, there will also be vertical and horizontal expansion of some 450 cyclone shelters and there will be construction of some 182 km access road and construction of 656 metres of bridges and culverts.
The Ecnec approved the project to set up a chancery complex in Jeddah of Saudi Arabia with an estimated cost of Tk 208.79 crore to facilitate the operation of the Bangladesh mission there.
The planning minister said the operation of Bangladesh mission in Jeddah is currently run in a rented house, but Jeddah is commercially very important for Bangladesh for which the chancery complex will be built there.
Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah will implement the project at Bogdadia of Jeddah by September 2023, he said.
The chancery complex building will be a three-storey one with a space of 6,354 square metres. Besides, there will be officers’ residential building having a space of 6,060 square metres, staff residential building having a space of 6,300 square metres.
The Prime Minister asked the authorities concerned to ensure free access of the expatriate Bangladeshis to the chancery complex there once it is built, Mannan said.
She also stressed the need for keeping all necessary amenities like spacious sitting arrangements, toilets and water facilities there considering the huge number of expatriates there.
Sheikh Hasina also underscored the need for further reducing the delay in processing and implementation of development projects.
The Ecnec approved a proposal for increasing the timeframe of Establishment of National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Centre (2nd revised) without increasing its cost.
It okayed the upgrading important regional highways into due standard and width (Rangpur Zone), 1st revised with Tk 993.90 crore, development of Darshana-Mujibnagar regional highway with Tk 149.83 crore and construction of Chashara-Khanpur-Hajiganj-Godnail-Adamjee EPZ Road with Tk 113.52 crore.