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Published : 19 Feb 2026, 12:09 AM
Implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) has slowed to one of its weakest levels in two decades, with only 21 percent of the allocation spent in the first seven months of the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Data released on Wednesday by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division shows 21.18 percent of the ADP was utilised between July and January, slightly lower than 21.52 percent in the same period a year earlier despite last year’s political turmoil.
The rate also trails the previous three fiscal years -- 27.11 percent in 2023-24, 28.16 percent in 2022-23, and 30.21 percent in 2021-22.
In absolute terms, spending stood at Tk 505.56 billion, down from Tk 598.76 billion in the corresponding period of FY2024-25.
Monthly expenditure showed marginal improvement, with 3.64 percent spent in January compared with 3.55 percent in the same month last year.
A new government has taken office amid the slow pace of implementation.
Wednesday was its first working day, but there has been no clear indication yet on how development work will be accelerated.
Due to the slow spending, the government has reduced the ADP allocation by Tk 300 billion in the revised programme, cutting 13.04 percent of the total.
After taking power following the political change in July, the interim government set the ADP at Tk 2.30 trillion for the current fiscal year, scaling back policies of the previous administration.
By January, the revised ADP was reduced to Tk 2 trillion.
The largest cuts were made in the health and education sectors.
Health allocations dropped by 73 percent, while secondary and higher education saw a 55 percent cut.
ADP spending is usually low at the start of a fiscal year and increases later.
But in July 2024, anti-government protests, curfews, and shutdowns disrupted development work.
After the Awami League government’s fall in August 2024, many contractors linked to the previous administration went into hiding.
The new authorities also began reviewing projects, which slowed development activities throughout the year.
Several projects were also suspended for political reasons, pushing implementation rates to one of the lowest levels in two decades.
By the end of FY2024-25, 67.85 percent of the revised ADP allocation had been spent, almost 13 percentage points lower than the previous year.
In 2023-24, the ADP implementation rate was 80.63 percent.
Data from FY2004-05 and onwards shows no previous year with such a low implementation rate as 2025-26.
