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Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud on Tuesday termed the budget placed by the interim government "realistic and frugal'.
"I will tell this budget realistic and frugal, aiming to ensure a fragile economy into a stable one where all financial institutions and all other state organisations were demolished," he said while addressing a post-budget press conference held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
He said that they are having heavy trouble cleaning the garbage that was left behind by the previous Awami League government.
The adviser said that the new projects that are being taken up by this government would come to the implementation stage not in the coming 2025-26 fiscal, but in 2026-27 fiscal.
"These projects will be enlisted now, there will be some more tasks to be done for these projects to improve these, the time to implement these projects will come not in the proposed budget time (2025-26 fiscal), these projects will be implemented in 2026-27 fiscal," he said.
He also said that at that time, this interim government would not be in power.
"The government, which will be in power then, if they want they can pick projects from those enlisted ones," he said.
The adviser, however, admitted that the poverty in the country has increased. "We are trying to know the reasons to solve those," he said.
He said this is the first time such a system has been put in place where a project must be at the forefront of the ongoing permanent irregularities (IMED) survey.
He said that many projects have been implemented without any kind of trial analysis, the work of which is being spent twice as much.
There are many projects where major corruption has occurred. In the future, IMED will be involved in the ongoing project survey to prevent corruption."
The adviser said that the permanent procurement policy has been revised and passed. Through this, 100% e-tendering will be effective to ensure transparency.
Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that this budget is the budget to reduce the inconsistency.
"This is an exceptional budget and the budget to reduce wastage," he added
Wahiduddin said that a significant portion of the proposed national budget has been allocated for servicing both foreign and domestic debt obligations, alongside maintaining essential subsidies in the agriculture and energy sectors.
He noted that these measures were necessary to ensure social stability and contain inflation, which had been rising even before the current administration assumed office.
"We have cleared significant backlogs in energy payments to foreign creditors," he said, adding, "But escaping the vicious cycle of borrowing to repay debt will not be possible in a single budget. What we have done is lay the groundwork for that transition."
The adviser also pointed out that the majority of the development expenditure in the upcoming fiscal year is tied to ongoing projects initiated by the previous government-many of which, he said, lacked proper financial planning and strategic prioritisation.
"Out of 1,113 development projects, only 20 to 30 are new-and even those were listed in the 'green page' of last year's budget without any allocation," he said.
According to the adviser, the interim administration's role has largely been to rationalise, restructure, and expedite the completion of feasible projects. Abruptly halting large infrastructure schemes mid-construction, he warned, would cause greater economic harm.
"Instead, we've prioritised rural infrastructure such as roads and bridges, along with urban services like sanitation and water management in district towns and semi-urban areas," he said.
These efforts, he added, aim to improve livability and reduce urban congestion by promoting decentralised development.
Regarding mega projects, the government is selectively focusing on economically strategic infrastructure such as the Matarbari Deep Sea Port, Chattogram Bay Terminal, and Khulna-Mongla Port.
"These are not merely construction projects-they are gateways to boosting our trade potential," the adviser said. "Even here, we are making careful budget adjustments to reduce costs wherever possible."
He also highlighted steps to reduce dependence on imported LNG by reviving and expanding domestic gas exploration-moves that he said are long overdue and could significantly cut energy import bills in the future.