B Mirror Report : Twenty-two projects were approved at an Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting. Of the projects that have been accepted, three entail project duration extensions, five are altered, and fourteen are new. These projects will cost Tk 46,419 crore to implement in total. The government would contribute Tk 30,482 crore, project loans will contribute Tk 1,689 crore, and the implementing agencies’ own money will contribute Tk 14,247 crore.

Those present at the meeting included Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud; Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain; Food and Land Adviser Ali Imam Majumder; Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S. Murshid; Home Affairs and Agriculture Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury; Industries, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, and Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan; Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Road Transport and Bridges, and Railways Adviser Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan; Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan; Health and Family Welfare Adviser Nurjahan Begum; and Religious Affairs Adviser Dr. AFM Khalid Hossain, along with other senior government officials.

The 22 projects approved by ECNEC are as follows:

Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (3 projects):

1. Development of the connecting road (Z-1040) from Karnaphuli Tunnel (Anwara) to Gachhbari on the Chattogram–Cox’s Bazar National Highway.
2. Upgrading the Hili (Land Port)–Dugdugi–Ghoraghat National Highway (N-521) under Dinajpur Road Division to appropriate standards, including reconstruction of existing narrow/dilapidated culverts on three important roads and construction of rigid pavement and drains in market areas (1st revised).
3. Land acquisition and utility relocation project in support of upgrading the Dhaka (Kanchpur)–Sylhet–Tamabil Highway to four lanes and construction of separate service lanes on both sides (1st revised).

Ministry of Housing and Public Works (1 project):

• Construction of 672 residential flats in eight 15-storey buildings for government officers and employees at Aliganj, Narayanganj (2nd revised).

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (5 projects):

1. Establishment of the Dhaka WASA Training and Research Academy.
2. Waterlogging mitigation, supply of safe drinking water, and infrastructure development in Sylhet City Corporation (2nd revised).
3. Climate-resilient livelihood improvement project.
4. Development of important rural infrastructure in Patuakhali District.
5. Widening and strengthening of important upazila and union roads in Sylhet Division.

Ministry of Defence (2 projects):

1. Infrastructure development of Mongla Commander Flotilla West (COMFLOT West) (1st revised).
2. Infrastructure development of the Army Institute of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Savar.

Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (1 project):

• Modernization and expansion of Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL).

Ministry of Social Welfare (1 project):

• Reconstruction of the Destitute Children Training and Rehabilitation Center at Konabari, Gazipur (1st revised).

Ministry of Health Education and Family Welfare (1 project):

• Enhancement of education and research capacity of the National Institute of Advanced Nursing Education and Research (NIANER).

Ministry of Education (2 projects):

1. Development of Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University.
2. Development of Bangladesh University of Professionals (3rd revised).

Ministry of Water Resources (4 projects):

1. Sustainable water management project for the Karnaphuli and associated rivers (Kachalong, Raikhiyang, and Shalknadi) in Rangamati Hill District.
2. Emergency maintenance and rehabilitation of the Ganges–Kobadak Irrigation Project.
3. Development of the Surma–Kushiyara river basin and flood and integrated water resources management project (Phase 1).
4. Disaster risk management enhancement project (Component-1, BWDB part) (proposed 2nd revision).

Ministry of Agriculture (1 project):

• Sustainable agricultural development project for the Bogura agricultural region.

Ministry of Religious Affairs (1 project):

• Management and consolidation of Darul Arqam Islamic education (Phase 2).

In addition, the ECNEC meeting was informed about 10 projects with costs below Tk 50 crore that were approved under the Planning Adviser’s delegated authority. These are:

1. Infrastructure development of two government and two private educational institutions in Noakhali, Cumilla, and Feni districts (2nd revised).
2. Poverty alleviation through employment generation for marginalized communities.
3. Integrated and participatory project for noise pollution control (3rd revised).
4. Adaptation initiatives for climate-vulnerable coastal small islands and riverine char lands of Bangladesh (1st revision).
5. Riverbank protection project on the right bank of the Dholbhanga River and the right bank of the Lower Titas River in Banchharampur Upazila of Brahmanbaria District.
6. Flood management and drainage improvement project in the Bamni River basin of Noakhali District.
7. Enhancement of operational capacity of RAB forces (1st revised).
8. Improvement of the working environment through enhancement of facilities in buildings of the Planning Ministry campus (1st revised).
9. Development of Tepakhola Lake in Faridpur town (2nd revised).
10. Economic Census 2023 (1st revised).