The government on Tuesday approved eight development projects at a combined cost of Tk75.89 billion.
The approval came from the regular meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Prime Minister joined the meeting virtually from her GanobhabanOffice while ministers, state ministers, planning commission members and secretaries concerned attended the meeting from the Planning Commission.
Among the endorsed projects, six are new and two others are revised ones.
After the meeting Planning Minister MA Mannan told reporters that of the total project cost, Tk 50.09 billion would be financed from the government’s internal resources while the rest of Tk 25.80 billion from the external resources as the project assistance.
Among the projects, ECNEC approved a Tk 43 billion project for developing the country's young workforce, especially women and disadvantaged sections for getting suitable jobs.
The Department of Technical Education under the Technical and Madrasah Education Division will implement the “Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) project” by December 2026, the planning minister said.
Of the total project cost, Tk 17.20 will be provided by the government while the rest Tk 25.80 billion will be provided by the World Bank.
Mr Mannan said there was a lack of skills among the workforce in the country and to overcome that, the government has implemented various projects.
The ASSET project will equip more than one million youth and workers with the skills needed for the jobs of the future. The project will also help accelerate recovery from the pandemic by supporting industries to retrain their workers.
