The approval was given at the regular Ecnec meeting held at the NEC conference room with Ecnec Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
"Today, we placed 20 projects at the meeting and Ecnec approved all of them," said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal while briefing reporters after the meeting.
"The total estimated cost of the 20 projects is Tk 32,524.90 crore. Of the cost, Tk 15,494.37 crore will come from government funds, while Tk 11,656.27 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned and Tk 5,374.26 crore as foreign assistance," he said.
Of the 20 projects, 14 are new and the remaining six are revised ones.
Under the Tk 10,461-crore Ghorashal Urea Fertiliser Project, a new urea factory will be set up in Ghorashal with a production capacity of 9.24 lakh metric tons per year. Currently, two factories in Ghorashal and Palash are annually producing 3.15 lakh metric tons.
About the project, the minister said the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will implement it by June 2022 to set up a granular urea factory adjacent to the existing Ghorshal Urea Fertiliser factory and Palash Urea Fertiliser Factory in Narsingdi with a daily production capacity of 2,800 metric tons.
Of the project cost, Tk 1,844.19 crore will come from the government fund while the rest Tk 8,616.72 crore from bidders.
The new urea factory will be set up aiming to meet the growing demand of fertiliser and thus ensure food security in the country.
According to project factsheet, now the daily production capacity of two existing Ghorashal and Palash fertiliser factories has come down to 1,050 metric tons as most of the machinery of the two factories became dilapidated.
The countrywide annual demand of urea is in between 26-30 lakh metric tons, but six fertiliser factories run under the BCIC can produce roughly 9-10 lakh metric tons.
The Ecnec also cleared a project involving Tk 2,861.31 crore for transporting fuel oil from Chattogram to Dhaka through installing pipeline.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will implement the ‘Fuel Oil Transportation through Pipeline from Chattagram to Dhaka Project’ by December 2020 aiming to save time and cost, and reduce system loss in the fuel oil transportation.
The 18 other projects include Cross-Border Road Network Improvement Project (Bangladesh) (1st revised) involving Tk 3,684.55 crore; Rural Connectivity Improvement Project (LGED Part) involving Tk 3,667.42 crore; Construction, Renovation and Development of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Killa with Tk 1,957.49 crore; Establishment of New Campus for Jagannath University: Land Acquisition and Development with Tk 1,920.94 crore; Flood Control, Road Cum Embankment Protection and Drainage for Bangladesh Economic Zone at Mirsarai in Chattogram (1st revised) Project with Tk 1,657.43 crore.
The projects also include Emergency Assistance Project-BREB portion (Electrification for the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar nationals taking shelter in Cox's Bazar) with Tk 104.44 crore; Bangladesh: Emergency Assistance Project (LGED) portion with Tk 297.30 crore; Ground Level Heightening, Wave Protection and Embankment Protection Works of Mithamain Army Establishment in Mithamain upazila of Kishoreganj with Tk 304.95 crore; Protection of both embankments of Karnaphuli and Ichamati Rivers, Shilok canal and other canals under Rangunia, Boalkhali and Kaptai upazilas with Tk 398.91 crore; Protection of the right embankment of Gangachhara River in Rangpur district and Teesta river in Rangpur Sadar upazila (1st revised) with Tk 168.84 crore.
The remaining projects are Upgrading Gobindaganj-Ghoraghat- Birampur-Fulbari-Dinajpur Regional Highway with Tk 882.91 crore; Developing Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Road with Tk 458.32 crore; Development and Rehabilitation of Important and Affected Roads under Khulna City Corporation with Tk 607.57 crore; Establishment of Fire Service and Civil Defence Station at 25 important upazila Sadars/Places (2nd revised) with Tk 419.37 crore; Establishment of Shaheed M Mansur Ali Medical College and 500-bed Medical College Hospital in Sirajganj (1st revised) with Tk 883.53 crore; Extending Infrastructural Facilities of 12 Existing Cadet Colleges in the Country with Tk 428.54 crore; Rural Infrastructures Development (Cumilla, Brahmanbaria and Chandpur districts) (2nd revised0 with Tk 769.42 crore; and Construction of Kodamrasul Bridge over River Shitalakhya under Narayanganj City Corporation with Tk 590.75 crore.
About the GDP growth, the Planning Minister expressed the hope that it may reach around 8.25 percent in the current fiscal year.
He said the Ecnec greeted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for receiving two international awards --the IPS International Achievement Award and the 2018 Special Distinction Award for Leadership—as recognition of her humanitarian role and far-sighted leadership over the Rohingya issue.