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The government has approved a Tk 2.63-trillion Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the upcoming fiscal year, with the transport and communications sector receiving the highest allocation, followed by energy and power, and education sectors.
The new ADP is 11.18 per cent higher than the revised ADP of Tk 2.36 trillion and 6.91 per cent higher than the original ADP of Tk 2.46 trillion for the outgoing FY2022-23.
The government also allocated an additional Tk116.74 billion for the autonomous bodies and corporations in the ADP for FY 2023-24, earmarking a total development expenditure of Tk 2.74 trillion, according to officials at the Planning Commission.
Presided over by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday approved the development budget, Planning Minister MA Mannan told a press briefing after the meeting.
State Minister for Planning Professor Shamsul Alam, Planning Secretary Satyajit Karmakar, Members of the PC and General Economics Division were present at the briefing.
Mr Mannan said that a total of 1,220 development projects are included in the ADP and another 89 projects are for the autonomous and semi-autonomous organisations of the government.
Of the FY24 ADP, Tk1.69 trillion is estimated to come from the government’s own resources and the remaining Tk940 billion from the external sources as the project aid (PA).
Transport and communications sector received the highest allocation of Tk759.45 billion, or 28.88 per cent of the total outlay, followed by power and energy sector Tk443.93 billion, or 16.88 per cent, education Tk 298.89 billion, and housing and community facilities sector Tk 270.46 billion.
Planning Secretary Satyajit Karmakar said a block allocation of Tk 80.87 billion, Tk46.97 billion for special development needs, has been set aside for projects to be approved during the FY2024.
Meanwhile, Planning Minister Mr Mannan said the project aid from the foreign development partners will be renamed as the “project loan” and “project grant”.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her meeting with the World Bank at its headquarters in Washington on May 1 requested not to tag different terms and conditions with their loans as Bangladesh used to repay the loans in time without any default, he said.
“We’ve decided to change the name of Direct Project Aid (DPA) to Direct Project Loan or Direct Project Grant and Reimbursable Project Aid (RPA) to Reimbursable Project Loan and Reimbursable Project Grant,” said the planning secretary.
Meanwhile, the government ministries and agencies implemented only 50.33 per cent of the Tk 2.36 trillion RADP during the July-April period of the current FY2023.
In the same period last FY, the execution rate was 54.57 per cent of the RADP, the IMED data showed.
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