The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved a total of 18 development projects involving an estimated cost of Tk 16,032.77 crore. Of the total amount, Tk 10,101.10 crore will come from government funds, Tk 5,609.70 crore from foreign loans, and Tk 379.31 crore from the organizations’ own financing.

The approval was given on Monday (1 December) at a meeting held in the NEC Conference Room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, presided over by Chief Adviser and ECNEC Chairperson Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Among the approved projects, 13 are new and 5 are revised.

The meeting was attended by Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain, Food and Land Adviser Ali Imam Majumder, Social Welfare and Women-Children Affairs Adviser Sharmin S. Murshid, Home and Agriculture Adviser (Retd.) Lt. Gen. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Industries and Housing Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Power-Road-Railways Adviser Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan, Environment-Forests-Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, Education Adviser Prof. Dr. Chowdhury Rafiqul Abrar, and other officials.

Two projects under the Ministry of Agriculture were approved, including the Sustainable Agricultural Development Project in the Chattogram Agricultural Region and the second revised version of the Quality Seed Potato Production, Preservation, and Distribution Strengthening Project.

Under the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, three exploratory well-drilling projects and a 220 MW solar power plant project in Sonagazi received approval.

Four major projects under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works were approved, including the construction of 1,560 residential flats in Mirpur Section 9 for the families of July Movement activists injured or disabled in the anti-discrimination student movement, and the “36 July” residential flats for martyr families.

Additionally, modernization of fire safety systems in the Bangladesh Secretariat and nearby residential areas, and the construction of a new 21-storey office building at the Secretariat were approved.

Under the Bridge Ministry, the third revised development project of Dhaka MRT Line-6 and the project to upgrade the Sirajganj–Raiganj (Chandaikona) road to four lanes were approved. The Narayanganj Green and Resilient Urban Development Project under the Local Government Division was also approved.

The second revision of the Autism and NDD Service Center Project under the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Japan Human Resource Development Scholarship program under the Ministry of Finance received approval.

The first revision of the Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem Development Project under the ICT Division was approved. Under the Ministry of Education, approval was granted to complete the third academic and central research complex and other infrastructure at Noakhali University of Science and Technology.

Three health-related projects were approved under the Ministry of Health, including the Climate Response Reproductive Health & Population Service Improvement Project, and essential operational projects for the Directorate General of Health Services, Directorate General of Drug Administration, and the Community Clinic Health Support Trust.

The meeting was also briefed on 15 previously approved projects. These included modernization of Bangladesh Betar Chattogram Centre, development of various district stadiums, Autism Academy, infrastructure development of colleges and cultural centers, strengthening border security, rural infrastructure development, afforestation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, river and canal dredging, and infrastructure development of Dinajpur Municipality, among others.