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The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved Tk 7.12 billion project for installing pre-payment meters at Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions in a bid to ensure cent per cent revenue collection and also to reduce system loss.
ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting in person held on Wednesday at the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. Ministers, state ministers, planning commission members and secretaries concerned attended the meeting.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that a total of nine projects were approved today (Wednesday) involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 26.65 billion. State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam was also present at the briefing.
Of the approved nine projects, seven are new while the rest are revised projects.
Revealing some of the directives from the premier, the planning minister said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the meeting asked the authorities concerned to speed up the installation of the smart pre-payment metering initiatives.
The prime minister also noted that if the operations of pre-payment metering efforts are strengthened, then system loss will come down significantly, reports BSS.
Mannan said the head of the government also directed the authorities concerned to go tough actions against those who have huge arrear electricity bills.
She suggested taking action against the errant electricity consumers either public or private as per the law and even severe their power connections after serving notices.
Mannan said that the prime minister asked the ministry of shipping to modernise all the land ports in phases since Bangladesh shares some 24 land ports with India.
She said that modern equipments and systems should be installed at all the land ports so that the government could be able to deliver much better services.
The planning minister said that the current stance of the government is to repair and upgrade the existing roads rather than make new roads.
He said that the prime minister also directed the authorities concerned to take efforts for protecting the environment, rivers, canals, and forests before building any infrastructure.
The planning minister said that the Northern Electricity Supply Company Limited (NESCO) under the Power Division of the Power and Mineral Resources Ministry will implement the smart pre-payment metering project by June 2024.
The project will be implemented at 33 upazilas under some 14 districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions and in two city corporation areas.
The main objectives of the project is to ensure cent per cent revenue collection, reducing system loss, introducing real time billing system and eradicating over billing and under billing, ensuring online bill access and payments by clients, implementation of load control management.
The main project operations include installation of some 11,13,608 single phase and 86,392 three phases smart meters, installation of some 13,619 data concentrator units, setting up some 3 head-end system and 70 hand held units, preparing data management system and billing softwares for 1.20 million meters.
Once the project is implemented, digitisation of power distribution system and improved client services would be ensured at the project areas.
The other projects approved in the meeting are: Vision 2041: Adding small savings in poverty alleviation with Tk 1.49 billion, Establishment of Darul Arkam Ibtedia Madrasa and its operations with Tk 1.99 billion, Rehabilitation of 50 BG and 50 MG passenger carriages for the western zone of Bangladesh Railway with Tk 1.38 billion, Construction of Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway, 1st revised, with an additional cost of Tk 6.51 billion, Infrastructural development of Pirganj, Haragach and Badarganj Pourashavas under Rangpur with Tk 876 million, Establishment of BNS Sher-e-Bangla in Patuakhali, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 1.96 billion, South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Integrated Trade Facilitation Sector Development Project: Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA) Part with Tk 2.17 billion and South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Integrated Trade Facilitation Sector Development Project with Tk 3.13 billion.