The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has postponed its scheduled meeting due to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to Japan, delaying the approval process for 15 proposed development projects worth around Tk 9,000 crore.
The meeting was scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 25, at the NEC conference room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. However, the decision to postpone it was made at the last minute.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who chairs ECNEC, was scheduled to preside over the meeting. The government officially cited “unavoidable circumstances” as the reason for the postponement. However, Planning Commission officials said the final decision was made on Saturday night, mainly in view of the prime minister’s upcoming Japan visit.
According to Planning Commission sources, the prime minister was scheduled to leave for Japan on a Sunday evening flight and needed to complete official paperwork on several important files before departure. Officials said the ECNEC meeting could not have concluded before lunch, prompting the decision to postpone it after considering the overall circumstances.
Preparations had been completed to present 15 development projects at the meeting, with a combined proposed cost of around Tk 9,000 crore. As the meeting did not take place, their approval process has been delayed for the time being.
Among the major proposals awaiting approval were two appraisal and development gas wells, Titas-32 and Titas-33, at the Titas Gas Field. The proposed list also included the Innovation Climate Smart Urban Development project and a project to establish Netrokona University.
Other projects included safe water supply and sanitation in the Barind region, as well as improvements to damaged sections of major roads, drains and footpaths under Dhaka South City Corporation.
Two projects to procure specialised and operational vehicles to strengthen Bangladesh Police’s capabilities were also scheduled for consideration. In addition, a proposal to establish nuclear medicine centres at five medical colleges was awaiting approval.