The government is likely to set up a fast-track monitoring committee, headed by the prime minister, to enhance implementation works of the development project like Padma bridge,
power plants or deep sea port in the country.
The Economic Relations Division is working out modalities of the proposed committee to boost up development works, especially the projects funded by overseas development partners, a senior official of the ERD told New Age.
The head of the fast-track monitoring committee will be the prime minister while ministers and secretaries from finance, planning, land and environment ministries of the government will be included as members of the committee.
‘We are planning to set up fast-track monitoring committee to see the implementation progress of the large development projects in the country,’ M Abul Kalam Azad, secretary of ERD told New Age on Friday.
Sources said the country’s main development partners like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and different bilateral development partners are now more serious about the monitoring system prior to making any financial commitment or fund-disbursement for any project in Bangladesh.
So it is very vital for the country now to strengthen the monitoring of the implementation process of the development works to get financial assistance from the development partners, the ERD official said.
ERD official also said Bangladesh has set a target to become a middle income country by 2021. To achieve this target it would need to remove all hurdles in investment process and development works, he said.
The high-powered committee will identify the problems of timely implementation of the development projects and give suggestions to accelerate development activities.
Planning division sources said that a total of Tk 28,409 crore was allocated for 15 mega projects in recent years under the annual development programmes. But the implementation progress of those projects was only 10 per cent, according to Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division.
The government has allocated 16 per cent or a total of Tk 8,697 crore including Tk 7,142 crore as project assistance for 15 major development projects including the Bangladesh central zone power distribution project, rural electrification upgradation project, higher education quality enhancement project, grid interconnection between Bangladesh and India project, Ashuganj compressor set up project, 3-G network system introducing project, Bangladesh railway sector improvement project, Dhaka water supply sector development project and maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent healthcare project under the current ADP for 2012-13 fiscal year.
-With New Age input
