Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday cleared six development projects, including the Tk 7,189 crore project to upgrade Cumilla-Brahmanbaria National Highway to four lanes. The highway from Mainamati of Cumilla to Dharkhar of Brahmanbaria will be upgraded into a four-lane one, with separate lanes for slow vehicles on both sides, by June 2026. The project aims to establish fast, safe and cost-effective road connectivity between Sylhet and Chattogram regions. The approval came from the Ecnec meeting presided over by its chair and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who joined the event through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganobhaban. Also read: Ecnec postpones Tk 236-crore project of Teletalk to save dollars “The total estimated cost of the six approved projects is some Tk 8,739.68 crore (only additional costs of three revised projects were included),” Planning Minister MA Mannan said at a press briefing after the meeting was held at the NEC Conference Room. Of the total cost, Tk 5,929.03 crore will be drawn from the government’s fund, while the rest Tk 2,810.65 crore will come as foreign loan, he said. According to the Planning Commission, the project titled ‘Upgrading Cumilla (Mainamati)-Brahmanbaria (Dharkhar) National Highway into Four Lanes’ will be executed at the cost of Tk 7,188.66 crore. Also read: Metro Rail (MRT Line-6) project cost goes up by Tk 11,486 cr; Gets Ecnec nod The government will finance Tk 4,378 crore and the rest Tk 2,810.65 crore will come from the Indian Line of Credit (LoC). The major project operations are acquisition of 103 hectares of lands, construction of 14 bridges (with total length of 1,218.44 meters), one 1,030-meter flyover, two underpasses, 50 culverts, 12 foot-over bridges, 50-km flexible pavement and 4.5-km rigid pavement.

Bangladesh has requested Thailand to include Bangladesh in the Trilateral Highway project being implemented among India, Myanmar and Thailand. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had a bilateral meeting with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai here on the sidelines of 18th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting on Tuesday and sought the Thai government's support for Bangladesh's inclusion in the project, noting that "connectivity is productivity."  The two Foreign Ministers enthusiastically agreed to hold a befitting program in celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Thailand.   Foreign Minister Momen underscored the necessity to immediately hold the next meeting of  Bangladesh-Thailand Joint Commission to discuss and review the entire gamut of bilateral relations.  READ: JS body for using Thailand’s experiences in Rohingya repatriation Given Bangladesh's growing capacity in the agriculture sector, Foreign Minister of Thailand requested for export of fertilizers to Thailand, if surplus is available.  He also stressed on the importance of concluding bilateral FTA for benefits of the two countries.  The two foreign Ministers greeted each other.  Foreign Minister of Bangladesh congratulated his Thai counterpart on the assumption of chairmanship of BIMSTEC.    They also agreed to work together under the framework of BIMSTEC. Foreign Minister Momen thanked the Thai FM for their decision to allow entry of tourists in Thailand from April 1 which would promote people to people contacts between the two countries.  Both the Foreign Ministers agreed to closely work for enhancement of trade and investment.  The two sides also committed to cooperate with each other in various regional and multilateral fora. Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams, Rector of Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy Asad Alam Siam and High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka Tareq Md Ariful Islam were also present.