ECNEC approved 10 development projects but deferred two major initiatives over duplication concerns: a 1,457.80 crore taka plan to buy two product oil tankers and a 567.04 crore taka Turag-Buriganga water management scheme. State Minister Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki said both will be reviewed and coordinated with similar ongoing projects before returning to ECNEC for approval.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Wednesday approved 10 development projects but deferred two others for further review to determine whether they overlap with similar ongoing initiatives.
State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki disclosed the decisions while briefing reporters after an ECNEC meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
One of the deferred projects involves the acquisition of two product oil tankers with capacities ranging from 4,000 to 55,000 deadweight tonnes at an estimated cost of 1,457.80 crore taka from government funds.
Saki said the project was put on hold as the government is examining possible duplication with another initiative to purchase four similar vessels. A memorandum of understanding for that project was signed during the Prime Minister's recent visit to China.
He said the Planning Ministry is working with different ministries to identify similar projects, eliminate duplication and, where possible, merge them into coordinated initiatives.
“The review process is now at an advanced stage. The tanker project will be considered again after examining it alongside the similar project so that duplication can be avoided,” he said.
The other project deferred by ECNEC is the ‘Metro Dhaka Project: Goran Chatbari Retention Pond and Turag River Protection and Conservation Project’, under the Ministry of Water Resources and to be implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board.
The project has an estimated cost of 567.04 crore taka, including a World Bank loan of 424.73 crore taka and government funding of 142.31 crore taka.
Saki said the project was deferred because the government is preparing an integrated plan covering the rivers and water bodies stretching from the Turag to the Buriganga in Dhaka.
“We have a preliminary understanding that around 11 projects are currently operating in different ways in this area. We need to coordinate these projects and avoid duplication,” he said.
The state minister said the government wants to bring Dhaka's overall water management and water bodies under a comprehensive plan before taking a final decision on the project.
He said both deferred projects would undergo further review and be placed before ECNEC again for approval.
Saki also said Tarique unveiled two volumes of a five-year strategic framework prepared by the General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Ministry.
The GED began preparing the strategic framework after the government assumed office.
The draft was approved on May 18 and subsequently endorsed by the Prime Minister at a meeting of the National Economic Council.
The framework has now been finalised and formally unveiled, Saki said.