Govt holds second ECNEC meeting after 19-day gap

It is not immediately known whether any new projects or revisions to existing ones have been approved at the meeting chaired by PM Tarique Rahman

The government has held its second meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), 19 days after the first one under the BNP administration was adjourned in the middle of project discussions.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the meeting was held on Sunday morning in the Cabinet Division conference room at the Secretariat.

It was not immediately known whether the 10th ECNEC meeting for fiscal year 2025-26, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, approved any new projects or revisions to existing ones.

At the first ECNEC meeting under the current government on Apr 6, five ongoing projects were cleared for revision.

Their implementation periods were extended and their costs adjusted. In total, an additional Tk 4.83 billion in spending was approved for those projects.

Of that amount, the costs of two projects were raised by Tk 4.87 billion, while the cost of one project was cut by Tk 34.8 million.

The planning ministry said in a statement after the meeting that ECNEC had also approved proposals to extend the duration of two other projects without increasing their costs.

The first ECNEC meeting under the new government was held at the Secretariat instead of the usual venue at the Planning Commission in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique presided over it.

After discussing eight projects, that meeting was adjourned. Of those, five were revised, while the remaining three were discussed but not approved.

At the time, the planning ministry said the remaining projects would be taken up the following week. The second meeting, however, was eventually held 19 days later, on Sunday.