A meeting of the executive committee of the National Economic Council on Sunday approved a dozen projects involving Tk 8,149.38 crore, but sent back a proposal on a housing project for the July martyrs’ families for further scrutiny.
Planning adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud at a meeting at the Planning Commission in the capital Dhaka on the day said that the housing project submitted by the National Housing Authority required re-evaluation of costs estimated for different components.
The authority’s proposal was related to constructing 804 flats in two multi-storied buildings at a cost of Tk 761 crore at Mirpur Section-14 in the capital from July 2025 to June 2029.
Each flat will consist two bedrooms, a drawing room, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and three bathrooms.
The Ministry of Liberation War Affairs published the names of 834 martyrs in a gazette on January 15, followed by an additional 10 on June 30, pushing the tally to 844.
Besides the housing projects, the government has also announced allowances for the July martyrs.
The planning adviser observed that all projects should be coordinated from a certain place, preferably by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs.
Other ministries will align with the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs in this connection, said the planning adviser.
Presided over by chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, the ECNEC meeting approved 12 projects at an estimated cost of Tk 8,149.38 crore, including development of the University of Dhaka at Tk 2,840.39 crore.
Six academic buildings, four female residential halls, five male residential halls, two residential buildings for teachers and officers, and five other buildings will be constructed under the project by June 2030.
All the buildings would be multi-storied for optimum utilisation of land, Wahiduddin said.
Among the approved projects, six are new, four are revised and two involve extensions of their implementation periods without any cost increase.
The approved projects include the establishment of 20 fire service and civil defence stations at Tk 650.96 crore, the 2nd revision to logistics and fleet maintenance facilities for the Bangladesh Coast Guard at an increased cost of Tk 173.21 crore, rural sanitation project at Tk 1,989.82 crore, the 3rd revision to excavation of canal from Bahaddarhat to the River Karnaphuli at reduced cost of Tk 19.40 crore, the maintenance and rehabilitation of railway lines in the eastern region at Tk 1,791.66 crore, the 1st revision to construction of officers’ mess at Mirpur Cantonment at a raised cost of Tk 75.45 crore, the 2nd revision to the construction of road from Kalurghat Bridge to Chaktai Canal at an extra Tk 469.15 crore, income generating activity training for women at the upazila level at Tk 395.83 crore, the 1st revision to expansion of museum building and construction of other infrastructure of Bangladesh Folk Arts and Crafts Foundation at an increased cost of Tk 12.89 crore, the strengthening of research on tuber crops at Tk 100 crore and the 1st revision to smart pre-payment metering project of Bangladesh Power Development Board at an increased cost of Tk 151.43 crore.
The monthly macroeconomic update released by General Economics Division under the planning ministry on Sunday said that the first month of the current financial year of 2025-26 indicated promises for rebounding economic activities despite ongoing challenges.
The highlight of the update is that the inflation has been declining steadily due to a decrease in food prices.
However, rice price is a cause of concern, showing a continuous upward trend in recent months.
The external sector shows resilience with a significant increase in remittances and slight appreciation of the taka against the dollar and a rebound in merchandise commodity exports.
But revenue mobilisation effort was hampered in June due to disruption of services amid the ongoing reform initiative, said the report.
