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.