Planning minister hopes 10pc growth by 2029

Planning Minister AHM Mostafa Kamal hopes Bangladesh will be able to attain 10 per cent economic growth by 2028-29, after implementation of mega projects.

“No one can stop the country from attaining 10 per cent growth after the implementation of the mega projects. We will be able to attain this growth target by 2028-29,” the minister said.

Kamal came up with the projection while speaking at the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) signing programme in Dhaka on Tuesday.

He said the country would achieve eight per cent growth by 2020 and it needs to maintain this growth momentum for the next three fiscal years.

The minister urged all to work together for maintaining the country’s economic progress.

The APA was signed between the planning ministry and all entities of the Planning Commission (PC), said a media release.

The planning minister urged the officials concerned to speed up implementation of all projects.

Referring to the APA, Kamal said it is not merely an agreement or a formality.

"The revenue collection system will be reformed to bring more people under tax net and lower the rate of tax to reduce pressure on taxpayers," the minister said.

“Tax-revenue ratio will be taken to 15 per cent by reducing the tax rate,” he added.

Planning secretary Md Ziaul Islam moderated the programme while general economic division member of the Planning Commission (Senior Secretary) Dr Shamsul Alam, PC members (secretary) A N Samsuddin Azad Chowdhury, Shamima Nargis, Juena Aziz and Statistics and Information Management Department secretary Sourendra Nath Chakraborty, among others, spoke on the occasion.