Written by The Banking Post
In the country, year after year, electricity system loss or managerial loss has become almost a rule. To overcome this, the government has taken up a new project, through which modernization and capacity enhancement of 25 outdoor substations in 20 upazilas of 14 districts will be carried out to reduce traditional losses. The project will be implemented under the supervision of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) as a four-year plan, with a total cost estimated at nearly Tk 2,000 crore.
Planning Ministry Secretary Iqbal Abdullah Harun said that the project will be placed for approval at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting in the Planning Commission on Sunday (August 17). He also said that besides this project to modernize substations and reduce system loss in the distribution system, a total of 10 projects will be placed at this ECNEC meeting. Among them, 6 are new and 4 are revised. Of these, there is one project from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions, two from the Ministry of Industries and Energy, three from the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division, and four from the Physical Infrastructure Division. The total expenditure for implementing these projects has been estimated at Tk 7,013 crore. The meeting will be presided over by Chief Adviser and ECNEC Chairperson Dr Muhammad Yunus.
Asked about the possible projects to be presented at the ECNEC meeting, Professor Dr Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said that the government must take projects to keep the economy dynamic, but before taking up projects, proper scrutiny must be carried out so that only necessary ones are undertaken.
According to sources, in the new project to modernize substations and reduce system loss in the distribution system, the government will provide Tk 497 crore, foreign loans will amount to Tk 1,080 crore, and Tk 257 crore will come from the organization’s own financing. When the project is completed by June 2029, the capacity of the substations will increase by 418 MVA. At the same time, through improvement of the distribution system, system loss will come down from the current 6.62 percent to 5.82 percent.
In this regard, Energy and Mineral Resources Division Secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam said, “Basically, the project has been taken to modernize and enhance the capacity of substations. If implemented, the people of the concerned areas will benefit.”
In addition, the ECNEC meeting will also consider the project to establish a telecommunication network in the economic zone at Mirsarai in Chattogram. This project of the Posts and Telecommunications Division was started in 2019. The expenditure was estimated at Tk 61 crore. Its tenure was supposed to end in December 2024, but now, for the fourth time, there is a proposal to extend it until December 2025.
For the development of the agriculture sector, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken up a new project. Named “Sustainable Agricultural Development in Rangpur Region through Expansion of Modern Technology,” the project has an estimated cost of Tk 143 crore. The five-year project will run until June 2023.
In the education sector, a new project of Tk 519 crore for the establishment of Rabindra University will be placed at ECNEC. And the Health Services Division will present a revised project to establish burn and plastic surgery units in Sylhet, Barishal, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Faridpur Medical College Hospitals. The expenditure has been proposed to be increased from Tk 456 crore to Tk 816 crore.
In addition, a project of Tk 774 crore for construction of multi-storey residential flats at Azimpur Government Colony under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, and a Tk 56 crore project for construction of two multi-storey residential buildings for officers and employees of the Fire Service, will also be placed for approval.
The Local Government Division has proposed extending the cost and duration of the Environment-Friendly Water Supply Project in Dhaka for the third time. The total cost will stand at Tk 2,828 crore, and the duration will be extended until June 2027. At the same time, the proposal has been made to extend until June 2026 the project for safe water supply and sanitation system development in Bandarban municipality and three upazila headquarters.
