The size of Bangladesh’s economy will be $1 trillion by 2040, if the current consecutive growth of over 6 percent continues while it will be achieved by 2030 if the growth goes over 8 percent, said an official document of the planning ministry. The information has also been placed in the updated picture of the economy of Bangladesh presented by the ministry of planning in the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), on Tuesday. The document stated that the average economic growth of Bangladesh has been 6.4 percent in the last six years. Even if this growth falls below 5 percent, the economy of Bangladesh will touch the milestone of trillion dollars by 2040. Read more: Social stability now economy’s main challenge: Planning Minister  But if economic growth increases to 8 to 9 percent and internal stability is maintained, it will reach trillion dollars by 2030. The Canadian online publication Visual Capitalist on December 29 published the statistics of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) showing the size of Bangladesh's economy at $465 billion. Bangladesh was ranked 35th among major economies last year.

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.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday asked state-owned companies like Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL) to be self-reliant so that they do not have to depend on government funds. The Prime Minister made the directive while presiding over a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) at the NEC Conference Room. She joined the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. Planning Minister MA Mannan briefed reporters after the meeting from an online platform. “The Prime Minister instructed the state-owned companies to spend money from their own incomes. No money will be allotted from government funds in the future. They need to stand on their own feet,” said Mannan. Also read: People’s lives come first: PM Hasina He said the Prime Minister made the directive while approving a project titled ‘Installation of Telecommunication Network in Economic Zones (Phase-I)’ at the meeting. BTCL will implement a Tk 90.12-crore project by June 2023 in Srihatta economic zone in Maulvibazar, Sabrang and Naf Tourism Park at Teknaf, Sonadia Tourism Park at Maheshkhali and Jamalpur Economic Zone. The entire money will come from the state coffer.          The Prime Minister also directed the authorities concerned to quickly complete the construction works on a super specialized hospital under Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, said Mannan. The directive came during the approval of the first revision of ‘Specialised Hospital Establishment under Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University’ project with the deadline extension and the rise in costs. Also read: PM Hasina suggests 5 actions to deal with drug-resistant diseases Now the project deadline has been extended up to June 2022 from December 2020, while the project cost raised to Tk 1561.18 crore from the original estimated cost of Tk 1,366.34 crore.    At the Ecnec meeting, a total of 10 projects involving the estimated cost of Tk 11,901.33 crore were approved, said the Planning Minister. Of them, Tk 8,991.44 crore will be borne from government funds, while Tk 2,099.91 crore will come as loan from foreign sources and the remaining Tk 809.98 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned, he said. Nine of the projects are new while another is a revised one. Also read: Govt’s focus on agriculture to tap its full potential: PM Hasina The projects include modernisation and capacity enhancement of electricity supply by Rural Electrification Board in Khulna Division with an estimated cost of Tk 3076.23 crore by June 2025, Development of important rural roads in Cumilla, Brahmanbaria and Chandpur districts with Tk 2,500 crore by June 2025; and Construction of Upazila-Level Sheikh Russel Mini-Stadium (Phase-II) in 186 upazilas with Tk 1649.33 crore by June 2024. The rest of the projects are Rehabilitation and Expansion of Teesta Irrigation Command Area at a cost of Tk 1452.33 crore by June 2024; Flood control, drainage and irrigation at Patia in Chattogram with Tk 1,158.36 crore by June 2024; Construction of 1.4-km Panguchi Bridge over Panguchi River at Morelganj in Bagerhat with an estimated cost of Tk 912.33 crore by June 2025; Construction of Multistoried Building for the Department of Public Libraries with Tk 524.25 crore by June 2024; and Development of Rangamat’s Kargoripara-Bilaichhari Road and construction of bridges and culverts with Tk 338.54 crore by June 2024.

 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to take action against those responsible for incorrect project designs that lead to project revision, pushing up costs.

The government has approved the first revision of the Covid-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness Project, raising its cost by Tk 5,659.07 crore mainly for the procurement, preservation and distribution of Covid vaccines.

The unusual delay in implementation of Kushtia Medical College Establishment Project has irked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday cleared four development projects, including Tk 693-crore one to install the third submarine cable.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved seven projects involving Tk 10,702 crore, including a Tk 1805-crore one to provide all citizens, aged above 14, with smart national identity cards.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved a Tk 5,905.59-crore project to maintain the rural road network by rehabilitating the roads, bridges and culverts destroyed by cyclone Amphan, excessive rains and floods.