The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved a total of 10 projects involving a total estimated cost of Tk 9,333.58 crore, including a Tk 4,963.67 crore project for rehabilitating and strengthening rural roads across the country.
Of the total project cost, Tk 8,488.71 crore will come from the government's own funds, while Tk 936.38 crore will be financed through project loans.
The approval came from the 2nd meeting of the ECNEC in this fiscal year held at the NEC Conference Room at the Planning Commission with Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairman Tarique Rahman in the chair.
State Minister for Planning Md. Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki briefed reporters after the meeting.
He said the ECNEC approved a major Tk 4,963.67 crore project for rehabilitation and strengthening of rural roads across Bangladesh.
The project, to be implemented by the Local Government Engineering Department under the Local Government Division, will cover all 64 districts and all upazilas in the country's eight divisions.
Saki said around 5,223 kilometres of rural roads and 7,000 metres of bridges and culverts will be rehabilitated under the project.
He said the Prime Minister stressed the use of modern technologies to make rural roads more durable.
A proposal to use rubber-bitumen technology will initially be tested on 100 kilometres of roads in the first year. Its wider use in subsequent years will depend on the results and experience gained from the initial application.
He said the road repair projects were selected after assessing the conditions of roads across the country and identifying those where people are facing the greatest difficulties in communication.
"These are essentially repair works. After repairing the roads, maintenance must also be ensured," he said, adding that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has instructed the authorities to incorporate maintenance into the projects.
The state minister said maintenance of roads remains one of the weakest areas in infrastructure management and stressed the need for institutional arrangements and effective monitoring to ensure proper maintenance.
Regarding the inclusion of around 7,000 metres of bridges and culverts in the project, he said these are mainly small bridges and culverts requiring repair. A separate project will deal with new construction.
The approved projects include two under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. These are the replacement and reconstruction of unusable structures at Dhaka Medical College with Taka 1,154.83 crore and construction of 19 modern hostel buildings for students of 10 medical colleges, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Taka 201.70 crore.
The Roads and Highways Department's project titled "Capacity Development for Smart Maintenance Technology of Bridges under Roads and Highways Department in Bangladesh" was also approved with Taka 115.73 crore.
Two projects under the Ministry of Water Resources involve protecting Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila from erosion along the right bank of the Dharla River with Taka 298.65 crore and strengthening the coastal embankment at Bashbaria Ferry Ghat in Sitakunda, Chattogram, and the stretch from the ferry ghat to Kumira Ghat with Taka 558.83 crore.
A project for strengthening the capacity of the Department of Livestock Services was approved under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, 3rd revised with a reduced cost of Taka 0.45 crore.
Two power sector projects were also approved. They involve construction of a 100 MW solar power plant at Madarganj in Jamalpur, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Taka 101.82 crore and expansion and strengthening of electrical infrastructure in the DESCO area of Dhaka, 1st revised with an additional cost of Taka 627.23 crore.
The ECNEC further approved an infrastructure development project for Ramu Cantonment under the Ministry of Defence with an estimated cost of Taka 1,311.53 crore.
Meanwhile, the meeting was informed about nine projects costing less than Tk 50 crore that had already been approved by the Planning Minister.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Saki said the approved projects include important initiatives in health, rural roads, riverbank protection, renewable energy, electricity infrastructure, bridge maintenance and defence infrastructure.
Saki also said a new project has been approved to replace and reconstruct unusable structures at Dhaka Medical College with an estimated cost of Tk 1,154.83 crore.
The project will be implemented entirely with government funding from September 2026 to August 2030.
He said several buildings of the country's oldest medical college have become unusable, including student hostels and other non-residential facilities. The project aims to replace and reconstruct those structures.
Another health-sector project involving the construction of modern accommodation facilities at 10 medical colleges was also approved.
The ECNEC approved a Tk 115.73 crore project titled "Capacity Development for Smart Maintenance Technology of Bridges under Roads and Highways Department in Bangladesh."
Saki said the project is being implemented with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). It will initially introduce modern technology to monitor the condition of four bridges.
The technology will allow authorities to centrally monitor changes in bridges and identify potential deterioration in advance, enabling proactive maintenance instead of taking measures only after significant damage occurs.
Saki said the Prime Minister and ECNEC gave observations on whether major bridges as well as tunnels and other major structures could eventually be brought under the monitoring system.