Bangladesh plans to cut development spending by 3%

The Planning Commission has finalised a proposal for a 3 percent or Tk 49.5 billion reduction in the Annual Development Programme or ADP for fiscal 2017-18.

The total budget for the programme now stands at Tk 1.48 trillion, compared to Tk 1.53 trillion before the cut.

A top official at the Planning Commission said the cuts were all from the project support section.

The final proposal will be put before a meeting of the National Economic Council chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday for final approval.

“Recently the Planning Commission has finalised a proposal to revise the ADP at a meeting,” Planning Division Secretary Md Ziaul Islam told bdnews24.com. “But it is still just a proposal.”

“The final decision on whether the budget will be expanded or cut lies with the NEC.”

The revised allocation will use the same amount of internal resources: Tk 963 billion. The foreign fund allocation has, however, been reduced to Tk 520 billion from Tk 570 billion, according to the documents sent to the NEC.

Over 25 percent of the budget has been allocated in the road transport sector, while 15.06 percent has been allocated to the electricity sector and 11.27 percent for rural development and rural institutions.

More to follow