Fourth HPNSP to get highest allocation after Rooppur power plant
There are 10 big projects which will get at least Tk2,000 crore each in the next ADP
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project is again going to get the highest allocation in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the next fiscal year, according to sources at the Planning Commission.
The second highest amount will go to the Fourth Health, Population and Nutritional Sector Programme (4th HPNSP), the sources said.
The Rooppur power plant is the country's most expensive project. So, becoming the largest recipient of budgetary allocation is usual for it. Some Tk15,691 crore has been proposed for the project in the next ADP, officials at the Planning Commission said.
There are 10 big projects which will get at least Tk2,000 crore each in the next ADP. The allocations will primarily be finalised at the commission's extended meeting to be held today.
Dr Md Shawkat Akbar, project director of Rooppur power plant, said, "Work on the Rooppur power plant is going on despite the countrywide shutdown enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19. We can spend the total allocated money we get every year."
"The Tk1,13,092.91 crore project has got Tk14,846 in allocation for the current fiscal year. We have sought Tk15,691 crore for the next year. If the coronavirus situation does not worsen further, we will not face any problem to spend the amount," the project director added.
On an average, 6000-8000 local and foreign workers are employed in the Rooppur power project, he said.
As part of its fight against the coronavirus, the government is going to allocate Tk8,372 crore for the 4th HPNSP in the next fiscal year's ADP.
The health sector's programme first got Tk8,482.88 crore in the current fiscal year. Later, the amount was trimmed to Tk7,736.78 crore in the revised ADP.
The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the 4th HPNSP on March 21, 2017 with the financial outlay of Tk1,15,548 crore for the period of 2017-2022.
The fourth Primary Education Development Programme will get the third highest allocation of Tk5,040 crore in the ADP.
The fourth largest allocation of Tk5,000 crore will go to the Padma Bridge project in the upcoming fiscal year's (2020-21) ADP.
Slow implementation due to the coronavirus crisis, only around half the allocation for the Padma Bridge from the current fiscal year's revised ADP has been spent. There are only three months left to spend the remaining fund.
The 2019-20 fiscal year initially earmarked around Tk5,371 crore for the project, but the allocation dropped to Tk4,015 crore in the revised ADP.
The government wants to inaugurate the Metrorail (Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit-MRT-6) from Uttara to Motijheel by December 16, 2021, the year marking the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's emergence as an independent nation. But it may not be possible amid the worldwide coronavirus situation, said officials concerned.
In this situation, MRT-6 project will get Tk4370 crore for the next fiscal year.
The project area of the Mass Rapid Transport Line-6 (MRT-6) under the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd has been very quiet. There is not much construction being done. Some Ansar members, security guards and regular workers are present at different points of the project area. Many workers have left their workplace since March amid coronavirus worries.
From July 2012, the year when the project began, to last February, the total physical progress was only 42.38 percent due to slow implementation.
Some Tk3,684 has been proposed for the Padma bridge rail link project in the next ADP. The project has witnessed an expense of less than 10 percent of its allocation amounting to Tk3,297 crore for the current fiscal year.
Railway authorities said they could not spend the allocation in the absence of Chinese workers owing to the coronavirus outbreak and for the subsequent shutdown, imposed by Bangladesh government, to stem its spread.
Among other projects, the Matarbari coal-fired project will get Tk3670 crore, the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport expansion project Tk2,899 crore and the Bangabandhu Railway Bridge Project will receive 2743 crore from the upcoming fiscal year's ADP.
