Rejaul Karim Byron

The Metro Rail Line-1 and -5 could end up costing more than double the original estimate because of the appreciation of the US dollar, inflation, and new taxes, found the government’s independent expert committee.

The government is set to undertake a Tk 567 crore project in its first phase, backed by World Bank funding, to protect the capital and surrounding areas from severe flooding and waterlogging.

Khaleque Bhuiyan still remembers the day the piling equipment arrived at Payrakunj, seven kilometres from Patuakhali town, a spot where a bridge over the Payra river was finally meant to rise.

A total of 306 plots will be created in the EPZ and divided into three categories

On a low-lying island in Patuakhali, 32-year-old Tanjila Begum’s husband works irregularly as a day labourer in nearby watermelon fields, where seasonal tidal surges often destroy crops and wipe out daily earnings.

The government’s total debt stock reached Tk 22.6 lakh crore at the end of March, a surge that is set to increased the debt servicing burden and put pressure on budget implementation.

The government has unveiled a Tk 32,554 crore plan to strengthen Dhaka’s water security by developing five large reservoirs around the capital to reduce dependence on rapidly depleting groundwater.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) yesterday supported Bangladesh and Nepal’s request for a three-year extension of the preparatory period for LDC graduation.

Bangladesh is once again considering issuing a sovereign bond to raise funds from international investors, but economists warn the country may not yet be ready

The draft plan has since been circulated among relevant ministries and will be finalised soon before submission to the UNCDP and other international bodies.

The cost of the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway project is likely to rise by another Tk 9,493 crore to Tk 27,046 crore, about Tk 5,000 crore less than what it cost to build the Padma Bridge.

The conditions for the possible new International Monetary Fund programme are likely to be based on raising the tax-GDP ratio, reducing subsidies, exchange rate flexibility and banking sector reforms.

Bangladesh’s economy is in crisis due to domestic and external shocks, and graduation from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) this year will worsen the situation due to several risks, according to a government document.

A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme, prioritising revenue collection growth and banking sector reforms in Bangladesh, may commence next January.

The Finance Division has warned that a possible fresh surge in global oil prices driven by the Middle East war could derail Bangladesh’s inflation-control efforts, pushing average inflation above 9 percent in the current fiscal year and further squeezing household purchasing power.

IMED report cites lack of feasibility study, land acquisition delays for incomplete implementation

The report identified 68 audit objections unresolved over the last three fiscal years, of which 48 were classified as Serious Financial Irregularities.

Three years after the construction of the Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, nearly half of its treatment capacity remains unused during the dry season because Dhaka Wasa has yet to build the sewerage network needed to deliver wastewater to the facility, according to an Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) report.

Govt scraps provision in Bank Resolution Act

The government may implement the Ninth Pay Scale in two phases, with the full increase in basic salaries likely to take effect from July and increased allowances to follow the next fiscal year, finance ministry officials have said.