Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked for the speedy implementation of lender-driven projects to ensure more flow of foreign currency to the economy facing protracted headwinds.
While presiding over the meeting of the National Economic Council in the capital, the PM also wanted the submission of lender-driven project updates every three months.
The meeting approved the new Annual Development Programme at Tk 2.65 lakh crore with Tk 1.65 lakh crore to be mobilised from local sources and the rest Tk 1 lakh crore from foreign sources.
The execution rate of the outgoing ADP is only 49.26 per cent during the July-April period compared to 50.33 per cent in the same period of FY23.
The PM directives came against the backdrop of the shortage of foreign currency that pulled down forex reserves below $18 billion from $48 billion in August 2021.
To overcome the prolonged financial downturn, the government is borrowing $4.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund to tackle the protracted economic crisis affecting the development budget too.
The new ADP is only TK 2,000 higher than the ADP in the outgoing FY 24.
The new ADP will likely outsize the budget deficit by around Tk 10,000 crore, which means the government has to mostly rely on borrowed money to implement it, economists said.
Planning minister Abdus Salam said at a post-NEC briefing that the PM had also directed completing the feasibility of projects on time.
The PM wanted to bring firms engaged in feasibility studies under registration and give focus to districts instead of upazilas for the selection of projects.
State minister for planning Shahiduzzaman Sarker and planning division secretary Satyajit Karmaker also attended the briefing and highlighted the main features of the new ADP.
A total of 1,321 projects, including 1,133 investment projects, 21 feasibility projects, and 87 technical assistance projects, are included in the new ADP.
They include 1,225 fresh projects, 80 of them linked to private-public partnerships, and some 300 linked to climate change.
The Fourth Primary Education Development Programme has been given the highest allocation of Tk 11,056 crore among the top 10 projects, accounting for around Tk 51,970 crore.
Other top fund-allocated projects include Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (Tk10,503 crore), Matarbari Coal Power Plant (Tk6,005 crore), Dhaka-Ashulia Expressway (Tk 3796 crore), MRT Line-1 (Tk3,594.37 crore), Power Grid Network Strengthening Project (Tk3,555 crore) and the Padma Rail Link Project (Tk3,544 crore).
As usual, the transport and communication sector has been given the highest sector-based allocation of Tk 70,687.75 crore, or 26.67 per cent of the new ADP.
The power and energy sector, with an allocation of Tk 40,751.86 crore, or 15.38 per cent of the total allocation, became the second-top sector, while the education sector became third with an allocation of Tk 31,528.60 crore, or 11.36 per cent of the overall allocation.
Fund allocation to other sectors includes housing and community (Tk 24,868.03 crore, 9.38 per cent), health (Tk 20,682.88 crore, 7.80 per cent), local government and rural development (Tk 17,986.21 crore, 6.79 per cent), agriculture (Tk 13,219.59 crore, 4.99 per cent), environment, climate change and water resources (Tk 11,089.43 crore, 4.18 per cent), industry and economic services (Tk 6,492.18 crore, 2.45 per cent) and science and ICT (Tk 4,786.92 crore, 1.25 per cent).
The local government division, with Tk 38,808.88 crore, or 15 per cent of the new ADP, topped the ministry-based allocation.
It was followed by the road transport and highways division with an allocation of Tk 32,042.43 crore, or 12.39 per cent and the power division with an allocation of Tk 29,176.70 crore or 11.28 per cent.
Other leading ministries are primary and mass education (Tk 16,135.52 crore, 6.24 per cent), the health services division (Tk 13,741.33 crore, 5.31 per cent), and the ministry of railways (Tk 13,725.64 crore, 5.31 per cent).
The ministry of science and technology got Tk 12,886.70 crore, 4.98 per cent, the secondary and higher education division got Tk 11,387.69 crore, 4.40 per cent, the ministry of shipping got Tk 10,373.45 crore, 4.01 per cent and the ministry of water resources got Tk 8,687.09 crore, 3.36 per cent.
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- Tk 2.65 lakh crore ADP for FY25
- Quarterly lender-driven projects update
- Tk 1 lakh crore from the foreign sources
- 1,321 projects, 1,225 fresh ones
- Tk 70,687.75cr for transport, communication sector
