Govt approves purchase of 340 BRTC buses  

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved proposals on Tuesday to purchase 340 new buses for the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and to set up a medical university in Chattogram as well as a medical college and hospital in Chandpur.

In the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC conference room, 17 projects were approved, with 10 being new schemes and seven revised schemes. These projects involve a total of Tk12,951 crore, Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters.

According to the project proposal, 104 city buses and 200 intercity buses, all of which will be CNG-run single-decker AC buses, will be purchased from South Korea by next year at a cost of over Tk1,133 crore. Tk828.63 crore will come from the East Asian country as a soft loan.   

Under a separate project, Chattogram Medial University will be set up in Sitakunda upazila at a cost of Tk1858.79 crore. Ten residential buildings and 14 non-residential buildings will be constructed there.

The project, with a deadline set for June 2025, aims to ensure healthcare access for approximately 3.50 crore people in Chattogram and its surrounding areas.

Another medical college, hospital, and nursing college will be constructed on the banks of the Dakatia River to ensure modern and specialised health care for the 26 lakh people of Chandpur and adjoining areas.

According to the project proposal, it aims to produce 50 qualified doctors and 100 nurses every year. The implementation of the project, estimated at Tk1,370.74 crore, is targeted to be completed by June 2026.

At the Ecnec meeting, the prime minister asked the authorities concerned to be careful to ensure that there were no mistakes in the infrastructure designs.

"Designs should be prepared properly so that no infrastructure would be required to be demolished due to design flaws. Flawed designs waste both money and time," the planning minister quoted her as saying at the meeting.

The premier issued the order while approving the revised project for the construction of a bridge over the Nabaganga River at Kalia upazila in Narail.

MA Mannan said a part of the bridge had to be knocked down as it was not possible to pass boats under the structure. It is a waste of money and time. The prime minister expressed her displeasure.

Its construction cost was initially estimated at Tk75 crore, but a further Tk60.78 crore has been sanctioned for this project.

The ECNEC meeting approved the project of land acquisition and construction of a rail link for the construction of an inland container depot (ICD) at Dhirashram in Gazipur. The total cost of this project by Bangladesh Railway will be Tk3,402.89 crore.

The Planning Minister said that many times, 60% to 70% of the total project cost goes to land acquisition. Knowing that the land will be acquired by the government many times, many people construct new buildings in the hope of getting higher compensation.

As soon as a decision is taken to implement a government project at a place, the PM orders the authorities to take pictures of that place. According to the prime minister, the landowners concerned will not get the opportunity to claim additional compensation through this.