10 projects up for approval at ECNEC meeting today

Ten projects, including a revised one titled “Procurement of 20 metre gauge diesel-electric locomotives and 150 passenger carriages for Bangladesh Railway”, are set to be approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today.

The eighth ECNEC session of the current fiscal year -- second of the elected government since the 12th parliamentary elections -- will take place at the NEC conference room at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

At the meeting, the government aims to approve 10 projects from various ministries and organisations, said sources. Besides, the ECNEC will be informed of 30 other projects.

The initial cost of the Bangladesh Railway’s locomotive and coach procurement project was Tk1,799.11 crore, with Tk384.43 crore contributed by the government, and the remaining Tk1,414.88 crore provided by South Korea. The project’s cost is likely to increase by 15.41% or Tk288.07 crore to Tk2,157.67 crore if the proposed revision is approved.

The original tenure of the project was from December 2017 to June 2021, but its duration was extended by three years in two phases till June 2024 without cost escalation.

The project aims to procure 20 metre gauge locomotives and 150 metre gauge passenger carriages for the Bangladesh Railway. It seeks to replace very old metre gauge diesel locomotives and passenger carriages and remedy their shortage.

Additionally, the project aims to increase the revenue of the Bangladesh Railway and enhance its services by boosting passenger and freight transportation.

Meanwhile, the government has taken initiatives to add specialised heart and kidney treatment facilities to the dedicated cancer hospitals currently under construction in all of the eight divisions across the country.

For this purpose, a revised project titled “Establishment of Comprehensive Cancer, Heart, and Kidney Treatment Centres (1st revision)” will also be placed in the ECNEC meeting.

The ECNEC initially approved the project involving Tk2,388 crore in July 2017 to set up only a 100-bed cancer hospital in all divisions each. It was expected to be completed by June 2022 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Later, the duration of the project was extended by one year till June 2023 without increasing the cost.

Under the revised project involving Tk3,570.95 crore, the number of beds in the cancer treatment unit was increased to 182. Besides, there will be 156 beds in the kidney treatment centre and 112 beds in the heart unit. The cost of the proposed revised project increased by about Tk1,182.55 crore or around 48.51% compared to the original cost.

Other projects proposed in the meeting include Construction of Bangladesh Chancery Complex and Residential Building in Cairo, Egypt, Kashinathpur-Dashuria-Natore-Rajshahi-Nawabganj-Kansat-Sonamsjid- Baliadighi Border (N-09) National Highway upgradation to proper standard and width (Nawabganj part), Improvement of Fish Landing Centres of Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation in Cox’s Bazar District, Infrastructure Development to Increase the Capacity and Fish Production of Existing Government Fish Farms (1st stage), Rural Infrastructure Development in the Districts of Greater Rangpur Region, Construction of Union Parishad Complex Building (3rd stage), Promoting Resilience for Vulnerable through Access to Infrastructure, Improved Skills and Information (Provati) (1st Revised), and Establishment of Bangladesh Textile Board Complex, Mirpur, Dhaka.