Keeping in mind the benefits people have been enjoying from large infrastructures like Metro Rail and Padma Bridge, the government will also prioritise funding in the next fiscal budget for implementation of more mega-projects, officials have said.
The finance officials have already received directives from the government high-ups for allocating enhanced funds for welfare-oriented mega-projects as they have started spadework for preparing new budget.
A senior finance division official told the FE that discussions with ministries on their budgetary requirements for the fiscal year 2024-25 have stared recently.
He said implementation of the election manifesto of the ruling political party will get priority in the new fiscal budget since the first budget is in preparation after the election was held on 07 January.
The official cited the example of Bangladesh Awami League’s election slogan ‘Smart Bangladesh’.
He said people face various complications in getting utility services like electricity, water or gas connections.
The new budget will put emphasis on lessening public hassles in getting service delivery in government offices by introducing smart systems, he said.
Another finance division official involved in budget preparation said the metro rail has brought relief for Dhaka commuters to some extent, especially for office-goers who had to wait in the heavy traffic for hours during the office time.
“Although I have a car, I travelled office and returned back home by metro rail twice to check public response to the overhead rail system. It made me stunned. You won’t get any space to stand in metro rail during the office hours,” he said.
The official has also cited the benefits offered by the Padma Multipurpose Bridge which connected people in southern Bangladesh to capital Dhaka, enabling faster transport system.
“The bridge has lessened public woes drastically,” he said.
Thus, he said, welfare-oriented mega-projects will get priority in getting funds allocation in the budget.
According to finance division officials, initially the size of the next budget has been outlined at Tk 8.05 trillion while the GDP growth target is set at 6.75 per cent.
The committee for coordination on fiscal, monetary and currency exchange and resource management headed by finance minister in December last set these targets which will be reset again in next meeting of the committee in April.
