The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved a Taka 4,068.23 crore project for expansion and modernization of Mongla Port facilities.
The approval came from the 7th meeting of the ECNEC in this fiscal year (FY25) and the 6th of the interim government held at the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagra area.
ECNEC Chairperson and Chief Adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus presided over the meeting.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud said that the day’s meeting approved a total of 13 projects involving an overall estimated cost of Taka 12,532.28 crore.
“Of the total project cost, Taka 4,097.23 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh portion, Taka 7,328.95 crore as loan while the rest of Taka 1,106.10 crore from the concerned organization’s own fund,” he added.
Of the approved 13 projects, nine are new while four are revised projects.
The Mongla Port Authority under the Ministry of Shipping will implement the expansion and modernization of Mongla Port facilities project by December 2028.
Of the total project cost of Taka 4,068.23 crore, Taka 475.33 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh portion while the rest of Taka 3,592.90 crore as loan from China.
The main objective of the project is to expand the modern facilities at Mongla Port by enhancing its container handling capacity.
Noting that the Mongla Port is very important considering its geopolitical aspect, the Planning Adviser said that the government wants to turn the Port into a ‘regional hub’ for which container handling facility would be enhanced there.
He informed that this project has been undertaken after a thorough review while China would finance most of the project funding.
Answering a question, he said that with the expansion of container handling capacity through implementation of this project, international trade could be expanded further with Bhutan, Nepal and China.
Replying to another question, Dr Mahmud said that they would review the development budget next week in a bid to finalize the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP).
He noted that since Bangladesh is graduating from the LDCs, soft-term loans would not be available from the multilateral development partners in the future while there would be also burden on the state coffee for repaying the principal amount and interest of the foreign loans.
Side by side, he indicated that the government’s loan burden for implementing the mega projects would also increase in the coming days.
In order to overcome the situation, the Planning Adviser suggested for raising the overall revenue collection, otherwise it would not be possible to efficiently ensure the overall economic management of the country.
In this regard, he said that the government is focusing more on Human Resources development.
The Planning Adviser also said that taking foreign loans is not bad, but the most important thing is whether it is invested in the right areas ….like investing in infrastructures which would motivate the private sector to woe more investment and establish export-oriented industries.
The Planning Adviser also informed that the government is putting due emphasis on strengthening further the capacity of BAPEX and the Petrobangla.
The other projects approved in the meeting are: Uttar Kattali Catchment Sanitation in Chattogram Metropolis with Taka 2,797.22 crore, Improved seed production and development of rice, wheat and corn, 3rd phase with Taka 474.68 crore, Modernization and development (2nd phase) of seed production, processing and distribution management of BADC with Taka 292.86 crore, Food Safety Testing Capacity Development with Taka 2,409.70 crore, Digging some four evaluation-cum-development wells of Titas and Kamta Fields with Taka 1,255 crore, conducting 3-D Seismic Survey at Habiganj, Bakhrabad and Meghna Fields with Taka 454.25 crore, Digging Sylhet-12 number well (oil well) with Taka 255.25 crore, Ghorashal 4th unit re-powering, 3rd revised with an additional cost of Taka 96.08 crore, Development of power distribution system of Chattogram Zone, 2nd phase, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Taka 164.15 crore, Strengthened Service Delivery systems for Improved Migration Management and Sustainable Reintegration with Taka 60.10 crore, Establishment and infrastructural development of government primary schools at Dhaka metropolis and Purbachal, 1at revised, with an additional cost of Taka 213.62 crore, and Establishment of digital labs at educational institutions, 2nd phase, 2nd revised with a reduced cost of Taka 8.86 crore.
Concerned Advisers attended the meeting while Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present.
