Today, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved 11 projects. This includes the ‘Construction of Primary Infrastructure of Sheikh Hasina Institute of Frontier Technology (SHIFT)’ project of the Department of Information and Communication Technology. The total cost of the project has been estimated at Tk 1,503.32 crore. The project will be implemented by Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority.
The total expenditure for the ‘Smart Agriculture Card and Digital Agriculture (Pilot)’ project of the Ministry of Agriculture has also been approved at Tk 107.92 crore. This project will be implemented by the Department of Agricultural Extension.
The approval was given by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday (February 8th).
Planning Minister MA Mannan, Agriculture Minister. Abdur Razzak, Minister of Local Government Md. Tajul Islam, Minister of Education Dr. Dipu Moni, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malek, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Fisheries and Livestock Minister S. M. Rezaul Karim, Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak were also present. The meeting was attended by Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, members of the Planning Commission, secretaries of the concerned ministries and senior officials.
After the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan briefed reporters on the project. He said the projects will cost Tk 37,508.22 crore. Of this, government funding will be Tk 36,023.91 crore, foreign funding will be Tk 1,449.98 crore and the company’s own funding will be Tk 33.33 crore.
The other nine approved projects are: Ministry of Defense’s two projects’ Infrastructure Development of Mongla Commander Flotilla West (Comflot West) ‘project and Chittagong, Comilla and Mymensingh (Trishal) Military Farm Modernization’ project; Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges ‘Upgradation of Ashuganj River Port-Sarail-Dharkhar-Akhaura Land Port Highway to Four Lane National Highway (1st Amendment)’ project; 4 projects of Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives’ Integrated Sanitation and Hygiene (Integrated Solid and Human Waste Management) project in 10 priority cities of Bangladesh respectively; ‘Dhaka Water Supply Network Development (1st Amendment)’ project; ‘Waste removal and management in the area affiliated to Dhaka South City Corporation, Project to reduce traffic congestion through procurement of modern vehicles used for road repairs and installation of mechanized parking and ‘Development of Important Rural Infrastructure in Gopalganj District (2ndAmendment)’ project; The two projects of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare are ‘Maternal and Child Health Training Institute at Azimpur, Dhaka’ and ‘4th Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Program (4th HPNSP)’ (1st Amendment) ‘.