Mosque-based edn project gets nod

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Saturday approved nine development projects with a combined estimated cost of Tk 118.51 billion.

The approval came at the meeting of the Ecnec held at the NEC auditorium, with Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus in the chair, according to a press release issued by the office of the planning adviser.

Of the total cost, Tk 80.46 billion will be financed by the public exchequer, Tk 8.16 billion by the implementing agencies from their own funds, and Tk 29.89 billion would be mobilised from external sources.

Although it is a tradition to brief the media after every ECNEC meeting, Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud did not do so on Saturday.

However, according to the documents, the Ecnec approved six new projects and three other revised proposals to extend the tenure of these projects.

 

The Ecnec approved a widely-discussed project titled "Mosque-Based Children's and Mass Education Programme for Moral and Religious Development (Phase 8)" with an estimated cost of Tk 46.46 billion.

The project approval process moved forward without meeting several preconditions, apparently due to demonstrations by imams and muezzins who had long been demanding prompt disbursement of arrears owed to the part-time teachers, said officials at the Planning Commission.

The project aimed at promoting Islamic values and moral education through mosque-based Quran teaching, while also offering pre-primary education to improve children's readiness for formal schooling, reveals the proposal sent from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The project seeks to engage religious scholars in welfare activities and contribute to social and state policy development to foster a knowledge-based society, it added.

The main activities under the project are providing Quran education to over 9.0 million children and 0.12 million adults in 44,200 mosques, establishing 28,800 pre-primary centres to educate 5.18 million children in marginalised areas.

The project will also provide monthly honorarium for 76,670 imams, muezzins, and educators, and operate 2,050 resource centres to promote lifelong learning.

The meeting also approved projects titled "Construction of Academic Buildings at Eight Government Polytechnic Institutes under the Directorate of Technical Education" at an estimated cost of Tk 4.51 billion, and "Capacity Enhancement of 15 Government Polytechnic Institutes" with a budget of Tk 15.14 billion.

A total of Tk 19.65 billion, entirely from the government's own funds, will be spent on the development of 23 polytechnic institutes. Of this amount, Tk 17.98 billion, or approximately 91.48 per cent, will be used for building construction and the procurement of lifts and other electrical equipment.

The meeting approved a project titled "Grid Power Evacuation System Development for WZPDCO" to be implemented by the West Zone Power Distribution Company at an estimated cost of Tk 5.40 billion by June 2028.

Another major power project titled "Power Transmission Strengthening and Integration of Renewable Energy" with an estimated cost of Tk 41.31 billion also received the ECNEC approval.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide loans of Tk 24.40 billion for its implementation.

While it is customary for a minister or an adviser in charge of the Planning Ministry to hold a press briefing following an ECNEC meeting to share details of the approved projects, Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud did not hold any such briefing after Saturday's meeting.

Unlike previous occasions, the Public Relations Officer of the adviser's office did not invite media representatives to cover a post-meeting briefing. Instead, the office informed that the adviser would not be addressing the media.

However, Dr Mahmud spoke at an emergency press briefing regarding the unscheduled Advisory Council meeting held after the ECNEC meeting, but he made no comments about the ECNEC meeting itself or the projects approved, nor did he respond to any related questions.