State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki on Wednesday said the government is preparing a series of policy reforms to cut lengthy delays in project implementation, strengthen accountability and improve the quality of public spending as part of broader efforts to accelerate economic recovery.
Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the Secretariat, he said eight of the nine projects placed before the committee were approved, while one project was sent back for revision after observations.
Govt prioritising human resource development over mega projects: Zonayed Saki
The only project returned for revision was a riverbank protection scheme aimed at safeguarding the Shibpur, Dhonia and Medua areas of Bhola Sadar and Daulatkhan upazilas from erosion by the Meghna River.
Saki said the proposal will be revised in line with the observations made during the meeting and resubmitted at a future ECNEC meeting.
He said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and senior policymakers closely examined every project, focusing on financing, implementation, expenditure and eliminating unnecessary costs.
“The Prime Minister has consistently emphasised identifying wasteful expenditure and ensuring that every taka is spent efficiently. Various observations and directives were given on each project and these will be incorporated during implementation,” the state minister said.
He said the meeting also reviewed the preliminary findings of an investigation into a road construction project in Rupsha, Khulna, initiated following the previous ECNEC meeting.
According to Saki, Tarique Rahman directed the authorities to take action against those found responsible after the investigation report is presented.
He said the government is also reviewing both ongoing projects and those awaiting approval to determine whether their scope should be expanded, reduced or modified to better align them with the government’s election manifesto and development priorities.
A policy framework is being prepared to facilitate this “rescoping” process, the state minister said.
He acknowledged that Bangladesh’s project approval and implementation process remains excessively time-consuming.
Saki said the period from preparing project concept papers and feasibility studies to Development Project Proposal (DPP) preparation, ECNEC approval, issuance of government orders, appointment of project directors and awarding contracts often takes around two years before implementation even begins.
“In many cases, actual construction starts three, four or even five years later. This slows overall development activities and ADP implementation, affecting the expected economic momentum,” he said.
The state minister said the government is giving top priority to shortening implementation timelines and will soon introduce new policies and guidelines to make the process more efficient.
He said the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) has already submitted recommendations, while a draft policy on appointing project directors has been prepared.
The government is also designing new training modules and institutional arrangements for project directors to improve implementation capacity, Saki said.
He said the current administration, which has been in office for five months, inherited long-standing administrative practices and is working to introduce structural reforms gradually rather than overnight.
Responding to questions about rising project costs, the state minister said the increased expenditure for the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway was mainly due to changes in the exchange rate, adjustments in VAT and taxes, relocation of utility lines that were not included in the original project proposal, and the addition of five new project components.
Rejecting suggestions of any manipulation in IMED’s implementation data, he said the Ministry of Planning is simultaneously working on four major reform initiatives.
These include a five-year strategic development framework already approved by the National Economic Council, a digital dashboard for real-time monitoring of project implementation, reforms to address implementation bottlenecks, including new policies for appointing project directors, and an early review of the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) to eliminate project overlaps and ensure alignment with national priorities.
Saki said the strategic framework has been completed and submitted to the Prime Minister, while the project monitoring dashboard is in its final stage and will be launched soon.
The ministry is also working to integrate automation systems across several government institutions, including the Planning Division, Public Procurement Authority, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, National Board of Revenue, Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, ICT Division and Bangladesh Bank, he said.
The state minister said the government aims to complete these reform initiatives within the next 180 days.
On project cost estimates, he said expenditures are generally calculated using schedule rates prepared by implementing agencies under different ministries.
A committee formed on the Prime Minister’s instructions is reviewing the existing rate schedules and is expected to recommend revised generic and specialised rates to ensure more realistic project costing, Saki said.
Regarding the revised Universal Social Infrastructure Development Project, he said the allocation has increased by Tk 368 crore, raising the total project cost to Tk 1,450 crore.
The project includes the construction and renovation of graveyards, cremation grounds, mosques, temples, churches, pagodas, gurdwaras and Eidgahs.
The state minister said the revised proposal incorporated additional demands received from different parts of the country after the current government assumed office.