China-BD exhibition centre gets ECNEC nod

The China-Bangladesh exhibition centre at Purbachal in Dhaka was finally approved by ECNEC of Tuesday, nine years after its preliminary initiative in 2009.   

The total cost of the “Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre” will now stand at Tk 13.03 billion, some 347 per cent higher than its initial cost.  

Initially the estimated cost of the project was Tk 2.75 billion. But it was increased to Tk 7.96 billion in the second phase.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) gave the approval for the centre on Tuesday at weekly meeting of the body with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.    

State minister for finance and planning MA Mannan, after the meeting, told reporters the project will be completed as soon as possible.

Of the total cost, the government will provide Tk 4.75 billion, the Chinese government will give Tk 6.26 billion in grant and the rest Tk 2.03 billion will come from the organisation’s own fund, said Mannan.

The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2020, he added.

The minister said the government also approved five more projects at the meeting.

They are:

• Expansion and improvement of the quality of Maijdee-Rajganj-Chhayani-Basurhat-Chandraganj regional highway project at Tk 2.52 billion
• Link project for acquisition of land for the construction of Khanjahan Ali Airport under Public Private Partnership (PPP) at Tk 2.17 billion
• Project for further development of Bangladesh Agricultural University at Tk 6.60 billion
• Project for repairing old food warehouse and related facilities and construction of new infrastructures at Tk 3.17 billion
• Project for upward expansion of circuit houses in 37 districts at Tk 1.70 billion.

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