The committee recommended effective measures to remove delays and expedite project implementation.
BSS
17 October, 2026, 05:00 pm
Last modified: 17 October, 2026, 05:04 pm
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Planning has unanimously decided to investigate the implementation of the Karnaphuli Tunnel project and the reasons behind its current financial losses.
The decision came at the committee's second meeting held at the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Bhaban today (17 October), with committee chairman and Prime Minister's Political Adviser Zahir Uddin Swapon, MP, in the chair.
The meeting discussed the tunnel's feasibility study, implementation process and financial losses. The committee decided to examine the issues in detail at its next meeting and seek necessary cooperation from all concerned parties to ensure a proper investigation, said a press release of parliament secretariat.
The meeting also reviewed the implementation status of 1,153 ongoing projects under the Ministry of Planning and examined the reasons for extending the duration of 256 projects in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The ministry explained that several factors contributed to the extensions, including complications in land acquisition, import dependence, difficulties in appointing project directors, inadequate feasibility studies, delays in releasing funds and conflicts between ministries.
The committee recommended effective measures to remove delays and expedite project implementation.
The ministry informed the meeting that it was working on a new policy for appointing project directors. It expressed hope that the proposed policy would help resolve persistent problems in the appointment process.
The meeting also discussed regional disparities in project implementation and efforts to ensure equitable development of rural infrastructure.
Regarding manpower, the meeting was informed that recruitment of 65 officers and employees across different grades was nearing completion against 221 vacant posts in the Ministry of Planning.
The committee chairman directed the ministry to determine a strategic workload for vacant posts and complete recruitment on a priority basis according to staffing needs.
The meeting approved the minutes of the previous meeting, subject toamendments.
State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki, lawmakers Kazi Rafiqul Islam, Moinul Islam Khan, Md Saiful Alam and Md Rashedul Islam Rashed attended the meeting.
Members of the Planning Commission, secretaries of the Planning Division and the Statistics and Informatics Division, senior officials of relevant departments and agencies under the ministry and officials of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat were also present.