Considering the country’s ongoing massive development, the government has given high priority by allocating more funds for infrastructure in the next budget. In the forthcoming proposed budget for 2019-2020 the government has allocated Tk 36.219 billion alone for infrastructural development.
The budget laid thrust on infrastructure projects and expediting the existing projects. In the proposed 2019-2020 budget, highest amount is allocating for infrastructure construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, construction for the metro rail is going to get second highest allocation while construction of Padma Bridge and Karnaphuli under river tunnel is going to get third and fourth highest allocation respectively.
The Roopur Nuclear Power Plant project is likely to get the highest allocation—Tk 14,980.7 crore in the upcoming budget. The allocation for the project was Tk 11,100 crore during last fiscal year. Under the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit (MTR-6) project, the first metro rail project in the country is getting Tk 7,212 crore, the amount was Tk 3,902.50 crore last year. The much-hyped Metro Rail service is now scheduled to be formally launched on 16 December 2021.
The government’s highest-priority own funding project ‘Padma Bridge’ is going to get a Tk 5,370 crore outlay in the forthcoming budget, during last year the project got allocation of Tk 4395 crore. Besides, the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project’ is likely to get Tk 3,995 crore.
Karnaphuli Tunnel, which is country’s as well as South Asia’s first ever under river tunnel, is getting Tk 1,350 crore in the next budget, in the last fiscal the same project got allocation of Tk 1,905 crore. The main construction of the tunnel boring work was inaugurated on February 24 by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Besides, support to Dhaka Elevated Expressway PPP project is getting an allocation of Tk 1038 crore, Dhaka- Ashulia Elevated Expressway is getting allocation of Tk 400 crore, Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project is getting Tk 456 crore allocation and Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit (MRT 1) is getting allocation of Tk 168 crore.
The growth-generating large projects, identified as ‘Mega Projects’, have been brought under special supervision by the government. In last 48 years of the country’s independence, the size of the budget is increased by 670 times. During the golden jubilee of the country’s independence the government is aiming to take this budget to Tk 7 lakh crore. By that time, country’s GDP will enter into double digit.
