ADP implementation drops to 2.39% in July, August of FY26

First two months of FY2026 see slow development spending at Tk 57.15 billion

The interim government has implemented only 2.39 percent of its Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the first two months of FY2026, falling behind the same period last year despite a trimmed budget.

In July and August, a total of Tk 57.15 billion has been spent from the development budget, compared with Tk 71.43 billion during the same period in FY2025, when implementation stood at 2.57 percent.

The data was released on Monday by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) under the planning ministry.

Although August showed marginal year-on-year improvement, the overall figure remained depressed due to a particularly weak July, when only Tk 6.9 billion was spent -- equivalent to 0.69 percent of the allocation -- compared with Tk 10.5 billion in the same month last year.

The slowdown comes despite the government rolling out a reduced, austerity-focused ADP for the current fiscal year.

Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud, speaking after an ECNEC meeting in August, warned that the implementation rate was “concerning”.

“I saw the July figures. The implementation came in at under one percent. That is lower than last year. This is not a good sign,” he said.

The advisor added, “Last year had justifiable delays. This year should have delivered stronger momentum. The excuses that were held last year will not apply now.”

With national elections due in February, Wahiduddin also indicated that the government is likely to announce the revised ADP earlier than usual, possibly in December or January, to align with the political calendar.

While slow spending is typical in the early part of the fiscal year, this year’s underperformance has been amplified by political instability.

In July last year, a wave of protests slowed project activity to a crawl. Worsening law and order, curfews, and complete shutdown brought large parts of the country to a standstill.

In August, after the fall of the previous government, contractors linked to the Awami League reportedly fled, fearing investigation. The new administration began reviewing ongoing projects, which further froze progress.

Several projects were also suspended altogether, with the government citing financial constraints and political sensitivities. That decision has had a visible impact on overall ADP performance.

At the end of FY25, only 67.85 percent of the revised ADP allocation was spent -- nearly 13 percentage points lower than the 80.63 percent recorded in FY24.

According to IMED data available since FY2005, no other year has recorded such a low ADP implementation rate as the one just concluded.