ADP implementation slows to 15-year low in first 9 months of FY25

IMED data shows March expenditure and overall rate is among the poorest in recent memory

The implementation of the Annual Development Plan (ADP) for the first nine months of the current fiscal year has been recorded at 36.65 percent, the lowest rate in more than 15 years.

This figure compares unfavourably with the 42.30 percent achieved during the same period in the previous fiscal year.

In March alone, 6.78 percent of the revised ADP was implemented, according to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) under the planning ministry.

Until February, the implementation rate of the original ADP stood at 24.27 percent.

Based on that, the 9-month rate was expected to hover around 30 percent.

But due to a reduction in the original allocation, the revised percentage appears slightly higher.

Still, the data confirms that even this adjusted rate is the lowest in a decade and a half.

Following the shift in the political landscape after the July Uprising, the sluggish development projects gained some momentum in December, but again lost pace over the next two months.

In March, development spending amounted to nearly Tk 153.38 billion, or 6.78 percent of the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP).

In contrast, Tk 220.1 billion was spent in March of FY 2023-24, reflecting an implementation rate of 8.65 percent.

Both in terms of absolute expenditure and percentage, March's implementation was weaker this fiscal year.

In total, the government spent Tk 828.94 billion on development projects during the first nine months, down from Tk 1.08 trillion spent in the same period last year.

The ousted Awami League government had passed the budget for FY 2023-24 with an ADP allocation of Tk 2.78 trillion.

However, following mass protests led by students and the public that intensified into arson and vandalism in July and August, ADP implementation plummeted.

The interim government, which took over after the fall of Sheikh Hasina administration, prioritised only select projects.

It slashed funding for many of the previous government's initiatives, causing work on numerous ongoing projects to stall.

Officials familiar with the matter say this contributed to the slowdown in expenditure.

Traditionally, ADP spending is modest in the early part of the fiscal year, but the added political instability caused further delays.

The interim government's policy of fiscal austerity also impacted the implementation pace.

As part of its cost-cutting drive, the revised ADP was trimmed by Tk 490 billion—an 18.49 percent reduction.

The original ADP for the current fiscal year, worth Tk 2.65 trillion, was reduced to Tk 2.16 trillion under the interim government, with the steepest cuts falling on health and education sectors.

The finalised ADP for FY 2024-25, including allocations for autonomous institutions, was initially set at Tk 2.78 trillion.

After revision, the RADP, including allocations for those institutions, now stands at Tk 2.26 trillion—an 18.72 percent or Tk 521 billion reduction.