14 mega projects to get Tk 45,140cr in new dev budget
The government has allocated almost one-fourth of the development budget for fiscal 2019-20 to 14 mega projects with a view to accelerating their construction as it looks to make good on its last electoral promise.
The size of the annual development programme for fiscal 2019-20 has been fixed at Tk 202,721 crore, the highest yet from the government.
When the current Awami League-led government first took power in 2009, the ADP allocation was Tk 30,500 crore, said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing journalists after the meeting of National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday.
The proposed ADP is 21.39 percent higher than the current year’s as the government looks to mobilise a higher amount of foreign aid piled up in the pipeline.
“This time, the government will give three times the emphasis on fully implementing the ADP,” the minister also said.
Mega projects
Of the total 1,475 projects, the government allocated Tk 45,140 crore to 14 mega projects for quick completion.
The estimated cost of the 14 projects is Tk 334,011 crore, of which Tk 67,111 crore has already been used.
Of the mega projects, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was given the highest allocation of Tk 14,980 crore. The project’s total cost has been estimated to be Tk 113,092 crore and until February Tk 16,665 crore has been spent, according to planning ministry documents.
It was followed by the Dhaka Metro Rail project, which got Tk 7,212 crore in the new ADP. Of the total project cost of Tk 21,985 crore Tk 5,860 crore has been utilised until February.
The government allocated Tk 5,370 crore in another high-priority mega project: the Padma Bridge.
The Payra deep sea port got Tk 713 crore in the upcoming fiscal year, the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport expansion project Tk 2,750 crore and the Dhaka Elevated expressway Tk 1,349 crore.
New ADP
In the next fiscal year, foreign aid utilisation will get a big boost: it has been fixed at Tk 71,800 crore, which is 40.78 percent higher than the current year’s.
“Foreign aid has piled up, so we have decided to utilise more of it next year,” said a senior official of the planning ministry.
As of November last year, the amount of foreign aid in the pipeline stood at $48.75 billion.
Conversely, the government’s own fund allocation has not increased much: it has been set at Tk 130,921 crore, up 12.86 percent year-on-year.
The government also allocated Tk 52,805 crore, which is 26.05 percent of the new ADP to the transport sector.
The second highest allocation went to the power sector: Tk 26,017 crore. This is 12.83 percent of the proposed ADP.
Among the other sectors, physical planning, water supply and housing got Tk 24,324 crore; education and religion Tk 21,379 crore; science, information and communication technology Tk 17,541 crore; rural development Tk 15,157 crore; health Tk 13,055 crore; agriculture Tk 7,616 crore; water resources Tk 5,652 crore; and public administration Tk 5,023 crore.
The government also approved Tk 12,393 crore for the state-owned enterprises. Previously, the allocation for SoEs were part of the ADP, but this year it was announced separately. So if it is included, the total size of the ADP comes to Tk 215,114 crore.
Only Tk 1 lakh allocated to projects
Some 446 projects were supposed to be completed this fiscal year, but 101 will be unable to reach the finish line.
Of them, some were extended and the fate of some are yet to be decided. To keep them going until the ministry takes a call on them, Tk 1 lakh has been allocated to some 37 projects.
The planning ministry made another list of 272 projects whose tenure will end in June but they are nowhere near completion. Some Tk 15,559 crore has been allocated for the projects, which is 7.6 percent of the total ADP outlay.