Home ›› 04 Apr 2023 ›› News
The government is seeking assistance from foreign development partners to carry out priority projects under the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for FY2022-23.
“We are looking for foreign assistance to implement 154 priority projects and we need over one lakh crore taka funds,” a senior official from the Planning Ministry told The Business Post.
The official said, The planning commission has prepared a list of 154 priority projects in the RADP for FY23. The commission has classified 125 projects as having the highest priority, 28 as having a medium priority, and one as having a low priority.”
The priority list of the RADP will benefit both the government and development partners, he also said.
The World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), China, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), India, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Korea are the most likely sources of foreign funding to implement these priority projects, the official added.
About the matter, Planning Minister MA Mannan said, “We have given priority to foreign funded projects. The priority list has been prepared in consultation with the ministries and divisions concerned.”
“If we get foreign fund, we can tackle the ongoing economic crisis,” he said, adding, “We are now waiting for the approval of fund in these projects from donors.”
The Economic Relations Division (ERD) is negotiating with development partners to secure funding for the implementation of priority projects in the RADP for FY23.
The negotiations are at various stages in various development projects, a senior official of the ERD told The Business Post.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the authorities only to spend on priority projects, in a bid to cap public expenditure in the wake of the global inflationary spike and growing concern over the slumping international economy.
Priority Projects
According to the planning commission, the cost of the “Dhaka-Chattogram via Cumilla/Laksham High-Speed Rail Line” project has been estimated at Tk 93,350 crore. The government will contribute Tk 37,504 crore, and an ADB loan will cover the remaining Tk 55,845 crore.
The government has planned to implement the project by December 2026.
The cost of the Sustainable and Integrated Rural Transport project has been estimated at Tk 13,000 crore. Of the amount, Tk 10,000 crore will come from foreign assistance and the rest Tk 3000 crore come from government exchequer.
The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) will implement the project by June 2028.
The “Upgradation of Bhanga-Jashore-Benapole Highway into 4-Lane Project” will cost Tk 10,066 crore, of which Tk 1,574 crore will come from the government exchequer and Tk 8,491 crore from an Indian Line of Credit (LoC). The project is expected to be implemented by June 2026.
The “Rehabilitation and Modernisation of the Existing 33/11 KV Pole-mounted Substation Project” will cost Tk 6,017 crore, of which Tk 1,761 crore will come from the government exchequer and Tk 4,256 crore from a World Bank loan. The government has set a target to implement the project by 2028.
Some of the other high-priority projects on the list are the Economic Acceleration and Resilience for Net project; modernisation of urban and rural life in Bangladesh through information technology; setting up of an integrated e-waste management plant at Bangabandhu Hi-Tech Park in Kaliakair; Integrating Population Dynamics into the National Plan and Policy project; construction of multipurpose terminal at Payra Sea Port; upgradation of Syedpur Airport (first phase), expansion of 4G network of Teletalk at the union level, resilience infrastructure for adoption and vulnerability reduction project (river), integrated approach towards sustainable plastic use and marine litter prevention in Bangladesh and building climate resilient livelihood in vulnerable landscape in Bangladesh.
