The National Economic Council (NEC) on Wednesday approved Tk 227,566.09-crore Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for the current fiscal year (FY23), cutting Tk 18,500 crore from the allocation of foreign sources portion in the original ADP outlay. Out of the total RADP allocation, Tk 153,066.09 crore will be drawn from the local sources while the rest of Tk 74,500 crore will come from the foreign sources. The funding from the local sources remained intact in the RADP. The approval came from the NEC meeting chaired by NEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC Conference Room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. Earlier, the original layout of ADP was finalised at Tk 246,066 crore. Of the amount, Tk 153,066 crore was estimated to come from the local sources, while Tk 93,000 crore from foreign sources as project assistance. But now the funding from external sources was slashed by Tk 18,500 crore. “In the revised ADP, the overall allocation of the concerned autonomous bodies and corporations remained intact at Tk 8,994.58 crore. So, with the allocation of the autonomous bodies and corporations, the overall size of RADP in the current fiscal year reached Tk 2,36,560.67 crore,” said State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam at a press briefing. The number of projects in the RADP reached 1,525, including 1,410 investment projects and 115 are technical assistance projects, he said. If 102 projects from the autonomous bodies and corporations are added, then the total number of projects in the RADP would reach 1,627 ones. About the performances of the major macroeconomic indicators, the state minister said the inward remittance has been witnessing an uptrend since October 2022, while the export earnings have also been witnessing buoyant performances since September 2022. Besides, he said the general point to point inflation has been witnessing a downtrend since August 2022, while the foreign currency reserve on February 22, 2023 was more than US$32 billion. Planning Division Secretary Satyajit Karmakar said they prioritized food security, agriculture and agro-based industries, poverty alleviation, employment generation, human resource development and ensuring balanced development while framing the revised ADP for the current fiscal year. Replying to a question, he said although the government has much capacity in utilisation of local resources, it still lacks capacity to some extent in utilization of funds from the foreign sources. "The compliance factor of the development partners is a bit complex and their bureaucracy is very strong. There are many barriers from their side also. For that, we often lag behind in implementing allocation of funds from foreign sources. Moreover, the foreign aid in the pipeline is now nearly $52 billion," he added. The planning secretary informed that some 21 ministries and divisions have witnessed increased allocation in the RADP while some 37 ministries and divisions have witnessed cut in allocation in the RADP. Besides, some 343 projects are scheduled for completion in the current fiscal year. In the revised ADP, the 10 sectors with the highest allocation are transport and communication with Tk 61,810 crore (27.16pc), power and energy with Tk 38,317 crore (16.84pc) and housing and community amenities with Tk 25,939 crore (11.40pc). Besides, local government and rural development with Tk 20,231 crore (8.89pc), education with Tk 18,431 crore (8.10pc), health with Tk 12,745 crore (5.60pc), environment, climate change and water resources with Tk 12,600 crore (5.54pc), agriculture with Tk 9,394 crore (4.13pc), industry and Economic services with Tk 4,689 crore (2.06pc and religion, culture and entertainment sector with Tk 4,271 crore (1.18 pc). In terms of ministry and Division wise allocation, the Local Government Division received the highest RADP allocation of Tk 39,563 crore (17.68pc) followed by Road Transport and Highways Division with Tk 29,897 crore (13.36pc) and Power Division with Tk 25,247 crore (11.28pc).  

The National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday approved  the annual development programme for FY23 with an outlay of Tk 2,46,066.09 crore, up by 9.23 per cent from the previous year. The highest allocation has gone to the transport and communication sector apart of prioritising optimum utilization of public fund by checking misuse, Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters. Some 1,435 projects are in the new ADP including some 1,244 investment projects, some 106 technical assistance projects and some 85 projects to be financed from the own fund of the autonomous bodies and corporations. Read: Only AL govt could keep prices under control preventing street fighting: PM NEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. Ministers, State Ministers, Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned attended the meeting from the NEC Conference Room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area and also from the Cabinet Division conference room at Bangladesh Secretariat. He said that out of the original ADP outlay of Tk 2,46,066.09 crore for the next fiscal year, Tk 1,53,066.09 crore will come from the local sources while the rest of Tk 93,000 crore will be injected as project assistance. However, considering an allocation of Tk 9,937.18 crore against the autonomous bodies and corporations, the overall ADP allocation for the next fiscal reached Tk 2,56,003.27 crore. The size of original ADP in the running 2021-22 fiscal year was Tk 2,25,324.14 crore which was later downsized at Tk 2,07,550 crore in the revised ADP (RADP). The fresh ADP for the next fiscal is around 9.21 percent higher than the original ADP of the current fiscal year and 18.56 pe rcent higher than the RADP of the current fiscal year. State Minister for Planning  Shamsul Alam, Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present at the briefing. Out of the 15 sectors, the transport and communication witnessed the highest ADP allocation of Tk 70,695.52 crore in the next fiscal year followed by the Power and Energy Sector Tk 39,412.36 crore, the education sector Tk 29,081.38 crore, the health sector Tk 19,277.87 crore. The other sectors with fresh ADP allocation are: General government services sector Tk 2,875.28 crore, defense sector Tk 1,270.05 crore, public discipline and protection sector with Tk 3,609.77 crore, industry and economic services sector Tk 5,407.26 crore, agriculture sector Tk 10,143.57 crore, local government and rural development with Tk 16,465.02 crore, environment, climate change and water resources with Tk 9,859.25 crore, housing and community facilities with Tk 24,497.22 crore, religion, culture and entertainment sector with Tk 2,364.91 crore, science and ICT sector with Tk 4,167.90 crore and social security sector with Tk 2,569.73 crore. According to ministry and division wise new ADP allocation, the Local Government Division enjoyed the highest allocation of around Tk 35,842 crore followed by the Road Transport and Highways Division with around Tk 31,296 crore, the Power Division with around Tk 24,139 crore, Ministry of Science and Technology with around Tk 16,011 crore, Health Services Division with around Tk 15,851 crore, Ministry of Railways with around Tk 14,929 crore, Secondary and Higher Education Division with around Tk 14,001 crore, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education with around Tk 11,642 crore, Bridges Division with around Tk 9,290 crore and the Ministry of Water Resources with around Tk 7,938 crore. Out of the mega projects, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project received the highest fresh ADP allocation of around Tk 13,396 crore followed by the Fourth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-4) with around Tk 8,759 crore, Matarbari 2x600 MW ultra super critical coal fired power plant with around Tk 6,554 crore, Expansion of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (1st phase) with around Tk 6,019 crore, Padma Bridge Rail Link Project with around Tk 5,809 crore, COVID-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness (WB-GoB) project with around Tk 4,254 crore, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Construction Project with around Tk 3,851 crore, Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway construction project with around Tk 3,703 crore, Expansion and strengthening of power system network under DPDC area with around Tk 3,059 crore and Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-6) with around Tk 2,883 crore. Read: Bangladesh seeks collective efforts in crime prevention, criminal justice The planning minister said that the prime minister has directed them to check misuse of public fund in all tiers of government machinery. He said the meeting was informed that the construction work of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project is at the final stage while with the completion of the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, connectivity of the southern region with the other parts of the country would be further enhanced and thus dynamism would be infused in the economy. He mentioned that once the Padma Bridge rail link project is completed, it would facilitate transportation of goods to and from Payra Port. Besides, the work on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project is right on schedule, the minister added. Responding to a question regarding possible measures of the government in the next fiscal year considering the global volatile condition, Mannan said that the government would definitely try to make the necessary expenditure in due time by stopping misuse. "We're cautious, but we're not afraid of anything," he said. He said that the flow of foreign loans to Bangladesh would not face any disturbance in the coming days. State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam said although the number of projects in the new ADP has been reduced in line with the government's plan, but the overall ADP allocation has been increased.   Planning Commission Member Mamun-Al-Rashid said that considering the pandemic situation and the performance of the Ministry of Health, its allocation in the fresh ADP witnessed a rise of 12 per cent.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday reiterated her commitment to improving the living standard of the people through socio-economic development of the country. “I am working for achieving a goal…. I have to implement the ideals with which my father had made the country independent.  That is my promise. In this position, I would say that I have to do it,” she said while presiding over a meeting of National Economic Council (NEC) held at the NEC conference room. She joined the meeting virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban. Read: Hasina pins hope on youths to materialise Vision 2041 She said that she wants to make the life of people beautiful and dignified so they can walk keeping their heads high in the world - what the Father of the Nation always wanted and used to say. Referring to the development of Bangladesh in the last 13 years, Hasina said that Bangladesh has already attained the status of a developing country, graduating from LDC. “We will move forward as a developing country and become a developed one in the future,” she emphasised. She said that now no one looks at Bangladesh with sympathy, rather regard it with respect. The prime minister also highlighted the significance of the eventful month of March due to Bangabandhu’s historic speech on March 7, his birthday on March 17 and Independence Day on March 26. She mentioned that this month is very important as in this month Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest Bengali of all time, was born. “Bangabandhu gave the nation freedom and self-dignity as an independent nation,” she said. Recalling the contribution of Bangabandhu in rebuilding the war-ravaged Bangladesh, Hasina said following the footsteps of the Father of the Nation, the government has taken massive development plans and is implementing those. Read: Will spread Bangla, Bangla literature further globally: Hasina “We are taking Bangladesh forward following his ideals.” She also mentioned that Bangladesh's economy is moving forward even in the time of Corona pandemic. The PM extended her gratitude to the people of Bangladesh who worked with sincerity even during this difficult time to attain the success.

The National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday approved the Annual Development Programme (ADP) involving Tk 225,324 crore for 1,426 projects for the 2021-22 fiscal year with focus on transport and communications, power, housing, education and health sectors. Among the approved projects, 1,308 will be investment ones while 118 will be of technical assistance. The approval to the ADP was given at an NEC meeting held at its conference room. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who joined the meeting from her official residence Ganobhaban through videoconferencing, presided over it.  Planning Minister MA Mannan said Tk 11,469 crore also was allocated for autonomous entities.   Read: Govt upgrading ADP implementation capacity for growth acceleration Of the Tk 225,324 crore, an amount of Tk 137,300 crore will come from internal sources while Tk 88,224 crore from foreign sources.  Of the Tk 11,469 crore of the autonomous entities, the internal sources will provide Tk 6717 crore while the foreign portion will be Tk 4751crore. The Planning Minister said the number of development projects for the next fiscal year for autonomous entities will be 89.  The total number of development projects will be 1515 involving Tk 236,793 crore.  Transport sector will get Tk 61,631 (27.35%) while power sector Tk 45,668 crore (20.36%), Housing and Community facilities Tk 23,747 crore (10.54 crore), Education Tk 23,178 crore (10.29%), Health Tk 17, 307 crore (7.68), Local government and rural development Tk 14, 274 crore (6.34%), Environment, climate change and water Tk 8,526 crore (3.78%), Agriculture Tk 7,665 crore (3.40%), industries and economic services Tk 4,638 crore (2.06%) and Science and Information Technology Tk 3,587 crore (1.59%). Local Government Division will get the highest allocation of Tk 33, 896 crore followed by road transportation and highways division Tk 28042 crore, Power Division Tk 25, 349 crore, Science and Technology Ministry Tk 20, 634 crore, Railways Ministry Tk 13, 558 crore, Health Service Division Tk 13, 000 crore, Secondary and Higher Secondary Division Tk 11, 920 crore, Bridges Division Tk 9,813 crore, Primary and Mass Education Division Tk 8, 022 crore, and Water Resources Ministry Tk 6,871 crore. Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will get the highest allocation in the next fiscal with Tk 18426.16 crore followed by Matarbari Ultra Super critical Coal Powered Power Project Tk 6162 crore, Primary Education Development Programme-IV Tk 5053.98 crore, Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-6) Tk 4800 crore, Padma Bridge Rail Connection (1st amended) Tk 3823.51 crore, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Tk 3580 crore, Padma Multipurpose Bridge (2nd amended) Tk 3500 crore, Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated expressway Tk 3227.20 crore, Expansion and Strengthening of Power System Network under DPDC Area Tk 3051.11 crore and Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Expansion (1st phase) (1st amendment) Tk 2827.52 crore. While briefing reporters after the meeting, minister Mannan said that the Prime Minister has given some directives, including one not to appoint foreign consultants indiscriminately to development projects. Read:Ambitious ADP worth Tk 2.13trn on the cards “Foreign consultants will be appointed as per requirement, not indiscriminately. We won’t appoint consultants blindly, they’ll be appointed as per need after scrutiny,” he said. The minister said the Prime Minister asked the officials concerned to complete the projects that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Stressing the importance of research, the Prime Minister directed all the ministries to utilise their funds properly that will be given for research. In the next fiscal ADP, Tk 4,147 crore has been earmarked as block allocation against the new projects of which Tk 2,893 crore will be mobilised from local sources while Tk 1,254 crore as project loan. Some 596 unapproved new projects have been incorporated in the new ADP without any allocation while 141 new unapproved projects have been included in the new ADP subject to the availability of foreign funds.   There are 88 projects to be implemented under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) while 356 projects have been earmarked for completion by June 30, 2022.   Besides, 73 projects that were supposed to be completed by June this year will be completed by the next fiscal year (FY22).   The Planning Minister said the economy of Bangladesh is performing well despite the shock of the pandemic due to the good performances in the agriculture sector and also for the domestic labour and the hard-earned remittances being sent by expatriate Bangladeshis.   Read:NEC approves Tk 197,643-cr revised ADP Referring to the recent attainment of $2,227 per capita income, Mannan said the per capita income has witnessed a jump of 9 percent despite the pandemic and this shows the resilience of the domestic economy.   He also said the current size of the country's GDP is Tk 30,111 billion or $355.04 billion.   Replying to a question, the Planning Minister said the Ministry of Health has attained a very good capacity over the years in implementing development projects. He said although there was a bit of sloth in the operation of the Health Ministry when the Covid-19 hit the country last year, it regained momentum in its operation and subsequently made a pick up within the next one or two months after the attack of the pandemic.    

 

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Thursday criticised the government for what he said not making adequate allocation for the health sector in the annual development programme (ADP) despite the coronavirus epidemic.

The National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday approved the Annual Development Programme (ADP) involving Tk 205,145 crore for the 2020-21 fiscal year with focus on transport, education, health and agriculture sectors.

The National Economic Council (NEC) is likely to approve the annual development programme (ADP) for the 2020-21 fiscal on Tuesday amid COVID-19 rampage which threatened its proper implementation.

The Planning Commission on Monday finalised the annual development programme (ADP) involving Tk 205,145 crore for the next 2020-21 fiscal year.

Bangladesh’s health sector is likely to witness an increased amount of only Tk 800 crore, the lowest monetary allocation in terms of increase, in the upcoming annual development programme (ADP) for the 2020-21 fiscal year, official sources said.