The government on Wednesday said the cost of hajj packages under both public and private managements has been reduced by 11,725 as Saudi Arabia has reduced a service charge for the intending pilgrims worldwide. Pilgrims who will perform hajj under the government management  have to pay Tk 6, 71,290 each to perform hajj this year after deduction of Tk 11,725. Besides, those who will go under private management have pay Tk 6, 60,893 each after deduction of the amount. Those who have already been registered for the hajj under the government management will get back Tk 46,725 from the hajj office in Dhaka when the price of food will be returned, said an official release of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The private hajj agencies will return Tk 11,725 to each pilgrim who got registered earlier.   Meanwhile, the government has extended the deadline for hajj registration till March 27, it said. The server of the hajj registration will automatically be stopped once the quota for the registration is filled.   Read more: Govt to reduce hajj package cost: State Minister On the other hand, Bangladesh Bank asked the banks involved in the hajj procedures to keep their branches open on March 27.   On February 1, the government fixed at Tk 6, 83,018 as hajj cost for each pilgrim which was around Tk 1.61 lakh more the past year. The increased hajj cost drew huge criticism as it is higher than that of the neighbouring countries. Of them, Tk 1, 97,797 was fixed as airfare for each passenger. The High Court on March 14 questioned how common people will perform hajj at the cost of the package set by the government. It questioned, “Why doesn't the government allocate budgets for the hajj like other countries in the world?” The High Court bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali came up with this observation while hearing a writ petition over revising the hajj package offered by the government this year. The HC asked the authorities concerned to take initiative to cut the hajj cost following a hearing on the writ petition on March 15. On March 17, the Ministry of Religious Affairs gave directives to the authorities concerned to rationally reduce the airfare of Biman. On March 19, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director Shafiul Azim said there is no scope to reduce the fare of hajj flights this year. 

As the war in Ukraine drags on, the cost of rebuilding the country and its economy has risen dramatically. Russia's invasion caused over $97 billion in direct damages to Ukraine between February 24 and June 1, but it could cost nearly $350 billion to rebuild the country, according to a new report jointly compiled by the World Bank, the European Commission and the Ukrainian government. But the figure, which totals 1.5 times the 2021 size of the Ukrainian economy, is considered a minimum and is expected to grow in the coming months as the war continues, the report said. The impact of the invasion will be felt for generations, with families displaced and separated, disruptions to human development, destruction of intrinsic cultural heritage and reversal of a positive economic and poverty trajectory, it added. Read: Six months on, Ukraine fights war, faces painful aftermath The report also estimates that over the next 36 months $105 billion will be needed to address urgent needs such as restoring education and health systems and infrastructure, preparing for the upcoming winter through the restoration of heating and energy to homes, support to agriculture, and repair of vital transport routes. It offered the first comprehensive damage assessment of the war's impact on Ukraine and laid the groundwork for funding its recovery plan, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said. "After all, only for the first stage, rapid recovery, $17 billion is needed, of which Ukraine needs $3.4 billion already this year," he added.

Farmers are to pay Tk. 6 more for a kilogram of urea fertilizer effective  Monday, the Agriculture Ministry announced citing price hike in the global markets. In a handout the ministry said that urea fertilizer will now be sold at Tk. 22 per kg, up from Tk. 16 per kg at the farmers’ level. At the dealers’ level the price has been re-fixed at Tk. 20 per kg, up from Tk. 14 per kg. According to the handout, the price of per kilogram of urea fertilizer in the international market is currently Tk 81. Despite the raise in the local market by Tk 6 per kg, the government will have to provide Tk 59 in subsidy per kg. Also read: Govt looks for alternative sources of urea fertilizer: Agri Minister In 2005-2006 fiscal year, the government provided Tk 15 a kg as urea fertilizer subsidy, it said. The price of fertilizer has shot up 3-4 times in the international market and as a result the government’s subsidies on the essential agro inputs rose by four times. In FY2020-21, the government provided Tk 7,717 crore as subsidy in fertilizer while Tk 28,000 in FY2021-22. . Also read: Incessant rains in Kurigram force Boro farmers to go for early harvesting

Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader on Monday said the construction cost of Padma Bridge would be collected from tolls by 2057. The Minister said this while replying to a tabled question from ruling party MP in reserved women seat Kh. Momota Hena Lovely. "Bangladesh Bridge Authority will repay all the loans given by the government in 140 quarterly installments in 35 years with the toll collected from vehicles plying on the Padma Bridge," he said. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 6.15 kilometers Padma Bridge on June 25 connecting south-western districts with Dhaka. Besides, in response to Jatiya Party lawmaker elected from Pirojpur Md Rustum Ali Faraji, railway minister Nurul Islam Sujan said that the cost per passenger per kilometer of the railway is Tk 2.43 and the income is Tk 0.82. On the other hand, the cost per tonne of transporting goods is Tk 7.94 per tonne and the income is Tk 3.18. The minister presented the revenue and expenditure information on the basis of the railway costing profile prepared for the 2016-17 financial year. Read: Padma Bridge starts by raking in over Tk 1 million an hour He presented the revenue figures of Railways for the last 5 years (FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21). According to the information of the minister, in 5 years it has carried 36.17 crore passengers and 2.8 crore tons of cargo. At this time the income of the railway has been Tk 6.8 crore, the minister said. He said that passenger transport is increasing day by day as the country's largest public transport railway is a safe and comfortable vehicle.

Five senior engineers involved in the much talked-about Padma Bridge on Wednesday categorically said that the cost of its construction has been the lowest in the world in the context of the challenging realities. The  engineers said this when they paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office. Also read: PM Hasina: Padma Bridge is our national pride Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon briefed the reporters after the call on. He said the delegation was led by Project Manager and Supervision Consultant of the Padma Bridge Robert John Aves. Other members of the delegation included Team Leader of the Management Consultant Team Michel King, Project Director of Padma Project Shafiqul Islam, consultants Prof. Shamimuzzaman Basuniaand Prof. Ainun Nishat. They apprised the prime minister of the technical issues of the project and said the bridge will last  more than 100 years. In this context, they said that they will share their experiences with other countries of the world. During meeting, the PM extended thanks and gratitude to them for their hard work, dedication and sincerity in constructing the 6.15 kilometre long Padma Bridge. Also read: PM opens two police stations on both sides of Padma Bridge Later, the prime minister presented mementos of boat to each member of the delegation. It may be mentioned that Padma Bridge construction works did not stop even for a single day despite the Covid-19 pandemic situation and Holly Artisan tragedy. Cabinet Secretary Khondkar Anwarul Islam, Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus and PMO Secretary Tofazzal Hossain Miah were present.

The construction cost of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge over the Jamuna River is likely to go up by about Tk 3,216 crore as the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) has given conditional approval to award the contract to a Japanese firm.