Ecnec okays Tk 4,489cr project to buy 35 dredgers

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved a project to procure 35 dredgers at a cost of Tk 4,489.03 crore to maintain navigability of 100 major rivers.

The approval came from the 11th Ecnec meeting of the current fiscal, held at NEC conference room with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said a total of 21 projects were approved yesterday with an overall estimated cost of Tk 19,778.73 crore.

Of the total, Tk 17,316.93 crore will come from the government, Tk 233.93 crore from the organisations' own funds while the rest will come from project assistance, he said.

Of the 21 projects, 19 are new while two are revised ones.

The planning minister said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) under the shipping ministry  will implement the project to procure dredgers by June 2023. The government would provide fund for the entire project.

According to the shipping ministry, at least 1,655.10 lakh cubic metres of river routes are required to be dredged annually, while the overall dredging capacity of the country is 846.50 lakh cubic metres.

Once the project is implemented, it will be possible to meet around 70.81 percent of the annual dredging capacity of the country.

The Ecnec meeting also approved the Land Acquisition and Utility Transfer Project: Support for the Improvement of Dhaka (Kachpur)-Sylhet-Tamabil Highway into four-lane, and construction of separate service lanes on both sides with Tk 3,885.72 crore.