DHAKA, Sept 17, 2019 (BSS) – The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved eight development projects involving Taka 8,968.08 crore including one to set up 100-bed full-fledged cancer treatment centers in all the eight divisional government medical college hospitals with Taka 2,388.40 crore.
The approval came up at the 6th ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal year with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair held at the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
Briefing the reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that a total of 8 projects were approved today involving an overall cost of Taka 8,968.08 crore. “Of the total project cost, Taka 8,952.59 crore will come from the state exchequer while the rest of Taka 15.49 crore from project assistance,”
Of the approved eight projects, five are new while three are revised projects.
The Planning Minister said the Health Services Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will implement the project for setting cancer treatment centers project by September 2022.
According to the recent estimation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), around 1.50 lakh people are infected with cancer every year in Bangladesh while 1.08 lakh people die of cancer every year and the rate is increasing every year.
The main objectives of the project objectives include detecting cancer at the very early stage and thus ensure proper treatment, bringing the marginalized people under cancer treatment through decentralization of the treatment facilities.
The main project operations include constructing 17-storey buildings in all divisional medical college hospitals involving Taka 1,405.83 crore, procuring cancer treatment and surgery equipments with Taka 888.33 crore, and procuring necessary vehicles, ambulance and furniture.
At the very outset of the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan on behalf of his ECNEC colleagues congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with flower bouquet for receiving the Dr APJ Kalam Smriti International Excellence Award 2019.
Turning to the implementation status of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) during the July-August period of the current fiscal year, Mannan said the ADP implementation reached 4.48 percent with Taka 9,626 crore during this two-month period.
The ADP implementation rate during the July-August period of the last fiscal year was 3.49 percent with Taka 3,308 crore.
The Planning Minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the meeting said that the government is widening and strengthening every road and highway in the country and such operation would continue in future also.
The Prime Minister directed the authorities concerned to implement the roads and highways development works maintaining due standard side by side avoiding the homesteads of poor people in case of constructing roads, even if possible slightly changing the road alignments.
The Premier also vowed to further strengthen the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) to boost the project monitoring and Evaluation capacity.
She renewed her directives to keep necessary water bodies and ponds while constructing any infrastructure side by side remaining alert about the price during procurement of project related various items.
The other projects approved in the meeting are developing Mymensingh (Raghurampur)-Fulpur-Nakla-Sherpur (R-371) regional highway with Taka 855.49 crore, Upgrading the pavement from Bindu circle of Rajshahi-Nouhata-Choumasia road to Nouhata bridge via airport to four-lane with Taka 326.87 crore, Road widening and strengthening from Uposhohor circle to Sonadighi circle and from Malopara circle to Sagarpara circle in Rajshahi, 2nd Revised, with Taka 126.40 crore, Ashrayan-2 Project, 3rd Revised, with Taka 4,826.16 crore, Zoonosis and Intra border animal disease prevention and control research with Taka 150.42 crore, Strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation capabilities of IMED, 3rd Revised with Taka 68.85 crore, Erecting 400KV Transmission line from Rahanpur to Monkosha border for importing power from Jharkhand of India through Chapainawabganj district with Taka 225.49 crore.