ECNEC clears 13 projects including banking reform plan

The government has approved 13 development projects involving Tk15,823.57 crore, including a Tk1,276.30-crore initiative aimed at strengthening banking-sector supervision, financial safety nets and Bangladesh Bank’s technological capacity.
The approvals were given at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), held at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday with ECNEC Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in the chair. State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki and Planning Division Secretary SM Shakil Akhter briefed reporters about the decisions at the NEC Conference Room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Of the 13 approved projects, eight are new schemes, three are revised projects and two involve extensions of implementation periods without changes in project costs.
The Financial Sector Support Project-II (FSSP-II), which will be implemented by Bangladesh Bank from July 2026 to June 2031, will receive Tk1,261.54 crore in project loans and Tk14.76 crore from Bangladesh Bank’s own funds.
The project is designed to strengthen financial-sector safety nets, improve bank resolution and restructuring capacity, upgrade Bangladesh Bank’s information technology infrastructure and enhance governance in state-owned banks.
The project will also support the capacity of the Deposit Insurance Trust Fund and introduce performance-based measures to strengthen financial-sector safety nets and bank restructuring operations.
Around Tk1,077 crore of the project’s budget has been allocated for capital expenditure, including Tk712 crore for ICT equipment and Tk355 crore for computer software. Training and consultancy services will also be financed under the project.
According to the project document, the initiative comes as the banking sector faces challenges related to supervision, governance, capital and liquidity pressures and outdated technological infrastructure. The largest allocation among the newly approved projects went to the widening and strengthening of important upazila and union roads in Rangpur Division, costing Tk4,949.76 crore. The Local Government Engineering Department will implement the project from July 2026 to June 2030 with government funding. The ECNEC also approved a Tk4,039.06-crore Integrated Health System Response to Fight TB, HIV/AIDS and Malaria in Bangladesh project. The scheme will run from July 2026 to June 2029, with Tk3,168.89 crore coming from government resources and Tk870.18 crore from project grants or loans.
Another major approval was a Tk2,910.22-crore project to expand electricity distribution networks in the three hill districts. The Bangladesh Power Development Board will implement the project from July 2026 to June 2031.
Of the power project’s total cost, Tk444.31 crore will come from government resources, Tk2,098.40 crore from project loans and Tk367.52 crore from the implementing agency’s own funds.
The ECNEC also approved a Tk21.14-crore project to acquire land for construction of a solar power plant at Sonagazi in Feni. The Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh will implement the project from July 2026 to June 2028.
The committee approved the third revised Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Expansion Project (Phase 1), raising its total revised cost to Tk22,213.09 crore, an increase of Tk847.57 crore. The project is scheduled for completion by June 2027.
Two water-resource projects also received approval. One, costing Tk751.77 crore, will focus on integrated flood and river management and drainage improvement in the Small Feni and Bamni river basin, including construction of the Musapur Regulator (Part-1).
Another Tk605.24-crore project aims to protect Shibpur, Dhaniya and Medua areas under Bhola Sadar and Daulatkhan upazilas from erosion along the Meghna River.
The ECNEC approved Tk308.30 crore for expanding physical disability training centres in Chattogram, Khulna  and Rajshahi divisions and enhancing the capacity of the Neuro-Developmental Disabled (NDD) Children’s Institute at Rofabad in Chattogram, including construction of a hostel.
A Tk505.32-crore revised project for conducting digital land surveys in three city corporations, one pourashava and two rural upazilas was also approved.
The committee approved a revised project for strengthening the technical and technological capacity of the Special Response Battalion (SRB), reducing its total revised cost by Tk8.99 crore to Tk343.24 crore.
The third revised Rural Infrastructure Development Project in Madaripur, Shariatpur and Rajbari districts was also approved, with an increased cost of Tk2,515.27 crore.
The establishment of Patuakhali Medical College and Hospital was granted an extension of its implementation period, with its revised cost standing at Tk651.01 crore.