TBT DESK: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Sunday approved 14 development projects involving an estimated cost of Tk 13,445.41 crore, aimed at boosting infrastructure, healthcare, and economic resilience across the country.

The approval came at the 10th ECNEC meeting of the 2025-26 fiscal year and the second meeting of the current government, held at the Cabinet Division conference room in the capital, reports BSS.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman presided over the meeting.

Of the project cost, Tk 8,089.56 crore will come from the government’s own funds, Tk 5,340.26 crore from project loans, and Tk 15.59 crore from the concerned organizations’ own financing.

Among the approved projects, five are new, five are revised, and four have received time extensions.

Key projects include “Expanding Access to Integrated Health Care for the Urban Population” under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and a revised “Customs Modernization and Infrastructure Development Project (1st Revision)” under the Ministry of Finance.

In the fisheries and livestock sector, a revised project on “Eradication of PPR Disease and Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (3rd Revision)” was approved.

The Local Government Division secured approval for four projects. The projects are “Resilient Infrastructure for Adaptation & Vulnerability Reduction (RIVER) Project (1st Revision)”, “Construction of housing for sanitation workers under Chattogram City Corporation (1st revised)”, “Infrastructure development of Dhaka South City Corporation (2nd revised),” and “Emergency water supply in Dhaka city”.

The transport sector received significant attention, with five projects under the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry. These are “Construction of five climate-resilient bridges in Mymensingh division”, “Border road construction project (Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban hill districts), Phase-2”, “Upgrading the Bairagirpul (Barishal)–Tumpchar–Bauphal (Patuakhali) regional highway (Z-8910) (1st revised)”, “Upgrading the Barishal–Bhola–Lakshmipur national highway (N-809) from Barishal (Char Kauwa) to Lakshmipur via Bhola (Ilisha ferry ghat) (1st revised) and “Construction of Goma Bridge over the Rangamati River at the 14th km of the Barishal (Dinarer Pul)–Lakshmipasha–Dumki road (1st revised)”.

The ECNEC also approved two important railway projects, including “Maintenance and rehabilitation of railway tracks in the western zone of Bangladesh Railway (Phase-1)” and “Construction of a broad-gauge railway line from Madhukhali to Magura via Kamarkhali (1st revision)”.

In addition, the meeting was informed about 33 smaller projects, each costing below Tk 50 crore, which had already been approved by the Planning Minister.

These projects span sectors including roads, bridges, railways, judiciary infrastructure, river restoration, agriculture, fisheries, livestock, ICT development, power distribution, and special economic zones.

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury; Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir; Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed; Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman; State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud; Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid; Industries, Textiles and Jute, and Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir; Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam; Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury; Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman; State Minister for Planning Md Jonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, along with senior officials, attended the meeting.