The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved a Taka 800 crore ‘Amar Gram-Amar Shohor: Pilot Village Development’ project in a bid to extend modern civic facilities to the villages. The approval came from the 1st meeting of the ECNEC in this fiscal year (FY24) held today with its chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. Ministers, State Ministers attended the meeting while Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that a total of 15 projects were approved today in the day’s meeting involving an overall estimated cost of Taka 18,010.12 crore. “Of the total project cost, Taka 12,192.07 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh portion, Taka 584.62 crore from the concerned organization’s own fund while the rest of Taka 5,233.43 crore as project assistance.” Of the approved 15 projects, 14 are new while another one is a revised project. The Planning Minister said that the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) will jointly implement the project by June 2026. The project will be implemented at 15 selected villages of the country on pilot basis. The project aims to extend modern civic facilities to some 15 villages while all the villages of the country would be gradually brought under the modern civic facilities. The major project operations include upazila, union and rural roads development, construction of growth centers, rural market development and agri products collection centers, ensuring water supply, sanitation and integrated waste management plant, construction of upazila multipurpose sports and cultural centers, development of schools playing grounds, development of rural accommodation, excavation of canals and ponds, erection of street lamps, supplying of Bondhu Chula and Biogas plants, social afforestation and village branding. The other projects approved in the meeting are : Boropukuria-Bogura-Kaliakoir 400KV Line Project, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Taka 5,753.61 crore, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Film City, 2nd phase with Taka 379.92 crore, Establishment of Sylhet Medical University (SMU) with Taka 2,036.42 crore, Ensuring flow of River during dry season, development of River ways and flood management to restore the flow of rivers of Jinai, Ghaghot, Bongshi and Nagda with Taka 4,168.16 crore, construction of Ulipur (Helipad Circle)-Chilmari (Gunaigach) Link road with Taka 68.25 crore, Enhancing the qualitative standard of design and construction for ensuring resiliency of private buildings with Taka 70.58 crore, Integrated and sustainable poura water supply and sanitation at Chattogram Hill Tracts with Taka 1,196.29 crore. The other projects approved in the meeting are: Construction of record building for Bangladesh Supreme Court with Taka 279.41 crore, Barishal, Bhola, Jhalkati and Pirojpur district irrigation development project with Taka 348.91 crore, Supplying Padma River water to Barind area through double lifting method and extension of irrigation with Taka 548.05 crore, Establishment and development of Tissue Culture Laboratory Cum Horticulture Center with Taka 394.88 crore, construction of Urirchar-Noakhali Cross Dam for land reclamation with Taka 588.94 crore, Permanent rehabilitation and preservation of slopes at the affected embankment of polder number 72 under Sandwip upazila in Chattogram district with Taka 562.21 crore, constructing newer food godowns and ancillary facilities at various strategic locations of the country with Taka 814.50 crore. Besides, the meeting also approved the extension of timeframe without raising cost for two projects namely construction of Upazila Muktijoddha Complex Bhaban, 1st revised and constructing loop road along the outer wall of Asian University for Women and construction of link road from Dhaka Trunk Road to Bayezid Bostami Road, 2nd revised.