Staff Reporter: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved four projects at a cost of Tk 2,115.20 crore. Of this, government funding is Tk 1,440.06 crore, the company's own funding is Tk 300.63 crore and loans from foreign sources are Tk 363.50 crore. Of the four projects approved, three are revised and one is new.

The approval was given at an ECNEC meeting chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday (December 1). The Prime Minister joined the ECNEC meeting held at the NEC conference room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar through video conference from Ganobhaban.

The members of the Planning Commission presented the details at the next ECNEC press conference.

Among the approved projects, the Ministry of Water Resources has re-excavated the Arial Khan River, Haridoa River, Brahmaputra River, Pahariya River, Meghna Branch River and Old Brahmaputra Branch River in Narsingdi district. The original cost of the project was Tk 500.28 crore. In the first amendment, the expenditure has been increased by Tk 403.14 crore to Tk 903.42 crore. The project started in January 2016. It was supposed to be completed by June 2021. In today's amendment, its term has been extended till June 2022.

The Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology has approved two projects. Among them is the first revision of the 'Telecommunication Network Modernization for Digital Connection' project. The original cost of the project was Tk 2,563.40 crore. 641.54 crore has been increased to Tk. 3,314.94 crore in the amendment. The project started in July 2016. It was supposed to end in June 2020. The amendment has been extended till June 2022.

The same ministry's project 'Laying of Third Submarine Cable for Expansion of Bangladesh International Telecommunication System' has been given new approval. The project will be implemented at a cost of Taka 693.17 crore. It will be implemented between October this year and June 2024.

The second amendment of the 'Municipal Governance and Services' project of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives has been brought. The original cost of the project was Tk 2,480.94 crore. In the first amendment, its term was extended to Tk 2,480.94 crore. In today's Second Amendment, Tk 26.35 crore has been increased to Tk 2,648.29 crore.

Also present at the ECNEC meeting were Information Minister Mohammad Hassan Mahmud; Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. Tajul Islam; Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun; Health Minister Zahid Malek; Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi; Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Shahab Uddin; Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury; Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar and State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Farooq.