Bangladesh approves nearly 10 bln USD development programme

The highest economic policy-making body of Bangladesh on Tuesday approved a 739.84-billion-taka (9.49 billion U.S. dollars) annual development program for the 2013-14 fiscal year beginning in July, with priority given to power and communications sectors.

The South Asian country's new annual development program (ADP) was approved at a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina here on Tuesday.

Of the total amount of the ADP for the upcoming fiscal year ( July 2013-June 2014), nearly 500 billion taka (6.41 billion U.S. dollars) will come from the government's own resources and the rest from external resources.

The highest allocation of 150.53 billion taka (1.93 billion U.S. dollars) went to the power and energy sector.

A total of 90 billion taka (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) has been allocated for the communications sector, reflecting the emphasis on infrastructure development, in particular the construction of the country's long-awaited 3-billion-U.S.-dollar Padma Bridge project.

After the NEC meeting, Bangladeshi Planning Minister AK Khandker revealed that the number of projects under the new ADP is 1,177.

The annual development spending represents a 34.52 percent rise on the ADP for the previous fiscal year.