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The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Thursday approved a Tk 61.40 billion (6,140.19 crore) project for ensuring necessary land acquisition and utility transfer for upgrading the Bhanga-Jashore-Benapole Highway into four-lane.
The approval came from the last meeting of the ECNEC in the current tenure of the government held with its Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that the day’s meeting approved a total of 44 projects involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 390.94 billion (39,094.33 crore).
“Of the total project cost, Tk 299.53 billion (29,953.44 crore) will come from the government of Bangladesh portion, Tk 75.79 billion (7,579.73 crore) from project assistance while the rest of Tk 15.61 billion (1,561.16 crore) from concerned organisation’s own fund,” he said.
The planning minister said that the Roads and Highways Department under the Road Transport and Highways Division will implement the upgradation of four-lane project with entire government fund by June 2026.
The main objective of the project is to ensure necessary land acquisition on both sides of the highway and utility transfer to upgrade the Bhanga-Jashore-Benapole Highway into four-lane.
The main project operations include some 969.36 acres of land acquisition, compensation for infrastructures and trees and utility transfer.
The other projects approved in the meeting are: Construction of Multi-Storey office building at administrative area in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka with Tk 1.72 billion (171.73 crore), Construction of 123 flats for government officials and employees at Tejgaon Industrial Area in Dhaka with Tk 1.44 billion (144.33 crore), Canal reexcavation, expansion, reform and development for addressing the water logging at Chattogram Metropolitan, 1st revised, with an additional cost of Tk 30.10 billion (3,010.12 crore), Upgrading the connecting road of Lakshmipur, Noakhali and Feni districts with the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar into due standard and width with Tk 14.04 billion (1,404.46 crore), Upgrading Illiotganj-Muradnagar-Ramchandrapur-Bancharampur district highway into due standard and width with Tk 3.48 billion (348.26 crore), Constructing connecting road from RAJUK Purbachal 300 Feet to Madani Avenue Sylhet Highway, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Tk 1.99 billion (199.91 crore), Upgrading Satkhira-Shokhipur-Kaliganj Highway and Kaliganj-Shyamnagar-Bhetkhali Highway into due standard and width with Tk 8.22 billion (822.44 crore), Performance based operations and strengthening for four years the Dhaka-Chattogram National Highway (Daudkandi-Chattogram) portion, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 1.87 billion (187.11 crore), Constructing multipurpose residential building for the cleaners of Dhaka North City Corporation at Gabtoli City Palli, 3rd revised with an additional cost of Tk 352.5 million (35.25 crore), Dhaka Water Supply Network Development, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Tk 2.0 billion (200 crore), Extended Dhaka Water Supply Resilience Project with Tk 40.40 billion (4040 crore), Dhaka Sanitation Improvement, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 13.32 billion (1,332.29 crore), Various roads development, addressing of water logging and waste management development at Barishal City Corporation area with Tk 7.97 billion (797.07 crore), Bangladesh e-passport and automated border control management formulation, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 44.02 billion (4,402.45 crore), Further development of Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 600.9 million (60.09 crore), Establishment of RMU at Rajshahi Medical University, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 3.90 billion (390.86 crore), Construction of necessary infrastructures and extension of ancillary facilities at Mugda Medical College with Tk 5.80 billion (580.75 crore), Supporting Implementation of the Mother and Child Benefit Programme (SIMCBP) and Bangladesh Enhancing Investments and Benefits for Early Years (BEIBEY) with Tk 1.06 billion (106.04 crore).
The other remaining projects approved in the meeting are: Land acquisition, development and ancillary works for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman University, Kishoreganj with Tk 2.31 billion (231.32 crore), Physical infrastructural development and training operations for strengthening the ICT education and research operations of NACTAR with Tk 1.51 billion (151.57 crore), Establishing Innovation and Entrepreneur Development Academy, 3rd revised with an additional cost of Tk 1.71 billion (171.18 crore), Improvement of Urban Public Health Preventive Services Project with Tk 11.81 billion (1,181.50 crore), River Jamuna Sustainable Management Project-1, Disaster risk financing, component-3 with Tk 955.6 million (95.56 crore), Construction of gas, power and communications infrastructures for Moheshkhali Economic Zone-3 (Dholghata) with Tk 11.95 billion (1,195.32 crore), Jashore Export Processing Zone area with Tk 16.42 billion (1,642.73 crore), Protecting various areas of Jhalkati Sadar upazila and Nolchiti upazila from the erosion of River Sugandha with Tk 6.80 billion (680.36 crore), Construction of town and union land offices across the country, 2nd phase with Tk 15.95 billion (1,595.62 crore), Livestock and Dairy development project, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 11.09 billion (1,109.56 crore), Modern Food Silo Construction, 3rd revised with an additional cost of Tk 3.23 billion (323.38 crore), Construction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Moulvibazar, 1st phase with Tk 3.64 billion (364.11 crore), Establishing agricultural research center of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute at Meherpur Sadar and strengthening research operations suitable for the environment of mid-western region of the country with Tk 2.09 billion (209.96 crore), Establishing Bangabandhu Pierre Elliott Trudeau agriculture technology center (BP-ATC) and enhancing capacity of agricultural research in Bangladesh with Tk 4.54 billion (454.83 crore), Chattogram Hill Tracts Rural Infrastructures Development with Tk 7.32 billion (732.88 crore) and Rural Infrastructures Development of Madaripur, Shariatpur and Rajbari districts, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Tk 4.02 billion (402.84 crore), Procurement of various types of equipments for enhancing the capacity of Dhaka Metropoliton Police with Tk 1.14 billion (114.96 crore), Physical infrastructural development of nine pourashavas under Rangpur Division with Tk 4.8 billion (480 crore), Integrated infrastructural development of Sylhet City Corporation including extended areas with Tk 14.59 billion (1,459.74 crore), City infrastructural development of greater Pabna and Bogura districts with Tk 7.5 billion (750 crore), Development of Feni-Porshuram-Bilonia road with Tk 3.35 billion (335.23 crore), Flood management and improvement of livelihood of haor areas, 3rd revised with downsize cost of Tk 1.9 million (19 lakh), Protecting Bhola Sadar upazila from the erosion of River Meghna with Tk 6.89 billion (689.10 crore), Progress on decent works in Bangladesh with Tk 2.68 billion (268.41 crore) and BSCIC Plastic Industrial Estate, 3rd revised with an additional cost of Tk 810 million (81 crore).
Besides, the ECNEC also approved the time extension of a project without raising its cost.