Bangladesh News

The government is going to implement around 30 projects for the first time under a ‘public-private partnership budget’ in the next fiscal year.

Finance and planning ministry sources say a list of projects in power, roads and communications and agriculture sectors has primarily been prepared and the ministries concerned have been asked to send more project proposals.

The government will formulate the new concept of public-private partnership budget along with the existing Annual Development Programme or development budget.

A final decision in this regard may come at the National Economic Council meeting to be held at the end of this month.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday urged the leaders of Bangladesh Association of Banks to take part in the budget when a delegation of the association met him at his Secretariat office.

Talking to reporters after another meeting of the purchase committee at the Cabinet Division, the finance minister said there will be three separate budgets — revenue, development and public-private partnership — in next fiscal year.

In the public-private partnership budget, the government will keep a block allocation and the private sector will contribute to it.

“We want the private sector play a leading role in the partnership budget. The private sector can submit a project proposal to the government after conducting feasibility studies,” Muhith said.

The minister added the size of the ADP will be Tk 30,500 crore in the next fiscal year.

“I admit that it will be a highly ambitious budget,” the finance minister said, adding the government has taken such budget for two reasons.

The government will firstly have to fulfil its election pledges. Secondly, the development budget of the country is very low and it will have to be increased, he continued.

“So, we deliberately keep the size of ADP ambitious and will take initiatives for implementing the programme,” the minister said.

Finance ministry sources say different projects will be implemented on power, health, education, agriculture, roads and communications and infrastructure under the public-private partnership budget.

The infrastructure sector includes power, roads, railway and land port. The finance minister yesterday also said the Dhaka-Chittagong express highway can be built under this partnership budget.

Sources say the government high officials, including the finance minister, planning minister and the finance and planning adviser to the prime minister, held a number of meetings about the new concept.

The government will give allocation from its funds for the projects, while the private sector will also take part under the partnership budget. Funds from multinational donors like the World Bank’s sister organisation IFC can also be utilised.

The sources say according to the primary plan there will be a committee to select project proposals and conducting feasibility studies.

The committee may also hire experts from the private sector, the sources add.