The government is failing to take advantage of the Japanese Debt Cancellation Fund due to slow progress in implementation of 52 ongoing
development projects assisted by the JDCF in Bangladesh.
Consequently, in the revised Annual Development Programme, allocation of the JDCF has been reduced to Tk 788.95 crore for the 2012-13 fiscal year from Tk 1,338 crore from the original ADP.
‘The JDCF has been reduced due mainly to poor utilisation of this fund by the government,’ Economic Relations Division sources said.
The JDCF is a fund made up of interests on the Japanese loans that the Japanese government gives back Bangladesh as grant.
However, the project assistance from all development partners has also declined by 14 per cent for the current fiscal year due mainly to inability to spent money by the government in implementing the development projects, the sources said.
A meeting over the JDCF-assisted projects for the current fiscal year was held on Wednesday at the conference room of the National Economic Council in the city with M Shafiqul Azam, additional secretary of the ERD, in the chair.
Senior officials of Planning Division and ERD were present in the meeting.
A senior official of the ERD said that the JDCF might be adversely affected in all countries because of the change in the foreign debt policy by the new Japanese government.
‘But in Bangladesh, overall performance of the JDCF is good as we have spent 18 to 19 per cent of the fund to implement the development projects funded by the JDCF until March,’ Shafiqul told New Age after the meeting.
‘Progress in implementation of the JDCF projects will significantly increase by the end of the fiscal year as the payment procedures will take place during this time,’ he said.
‘So, the Japanese government is happy with the progress in its JDCF-assisted projects in Bangladesh,’ he added.
The Planning Division sources, however, said out of
the 52 ongoing development projects assisted by the JDCF, the government has pledged to spent Tk 209.35 crore for eight projects in agricultural sector, Tk 45.99 crore for three projects in rural development and organisational sector, Tk 11.78 crore for four projects in industry sector, Tk 20.0 crore for one project in power sector, Tk 37.45 crore for three projects in oil, gas and natural resources sector, Tk 277.40 crore for 11 projects in transport sector, Tk 52.52 crore for four projects in planning of infrastructure, water supply and housing sector, Tk 7.02 crore for four projects in education and religion sector, Tk 27.0 crore for two projects in health, nutrition, population and family planning sector, Tk 3.37 crore for two projects in social welfare, women affairs and adult development sector and Tk 89.32 crore for nine projects in public administration sector in the current fiscal year.
-With New Age input
