Govt approves Tk3 lakh crore ADP for FY27; transport, communication gets highest allocation

The government has approved an Annual Development Programme (ADP) worth Tk3 lakh crore for FY27, with the transport and communication sector receiving the highest allocation.

Under the new ADP, Tk1,90,000 crore, or 63.33%, will come from government funds, while the rest will be financed through foreign loans and grants. Compared to the FY26 ADP, the size of the FY27 programme has increased by 30.43%, while the increase compared to the revised FY26 ADP stands at 50%.

The approval came at a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, held today (18 May) at the NEC conference room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

Speaking at a press briefing after the meeting, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said ambitious development goals require large-scale investment. "Without investment, growth and employment generation are not possible. That is why we have adopted a large development budget, and the government believes it can be implemented," he said.

Explaining the rationale behind the expanded ADP, the minister compared the economy to a tube well. "When water pressure falls in a tube well, water has to be poured in to restore pressure. Similarly, large investments are needed to revive a fragile economy," he said, adding that economic recovery would not be possible without such investment.

The minister expressed optimism that Bangladesh would emerge as a major investment destination through strong leadership, faster decision-making and professionalism.

He also said several measures had been taken to ensure transparency and accountability in project implementation. Specific criteria will be introduced for appointing project directors, and accountability will be enforced if projects are not completed on time. Dashboards will also be introduced in ministries to regularly monitor project progress.

According to the minister, the government is reviewing around 1,300 ongoing projects and will scrap those found unnecessary, ineffective or corruption-driven. Decisions on partially completed projects will be made based on their effectiveness. New projects must be completed within the stipulated timeframe, with no scope for extensions.

On social sector allocations, Amir Khosru said significant funding had already been earmarked for education and health. Block allocations have also been kept for new projects to replace discontinued old ones. He said the government was prioritising "value for money," return on investment and employment generation in all projects.

Responding to questions on revenue mobilisation, the minister acknowledged that Bangladesh's tax-to-GDP ratio remains low. However, he said reforms at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) aim to expand the tax net by bringing in new taxpayers.

On implementation capacity in the health and education sectors, the minister said the government would increase investment in human resource development, particularly technical education. New technical institutes will be established, while international-standard certification and accreditation systems will be introduced to build a skilled workforce.

Sector-wise allocation

Planning Commission officials said priority was also given to transport and communication, power and energy, industrialisation, ICT, services and employment generation to rebuild the fragile economy. Planned initiatives include infrastructure development, expansion of railways and waterways, power plant construction, gas exploration and the development of industrial parks and economic zones.

As a result, transport and communication received the highest allocation at 16.70%, while power and energy secured the fourth-highest allocation at 10.90%.

Education was granted 15.86% of the total allocation, making it the second-highest sector, followed by health at 11.84% and agriculture at 3.68%.

The government has also allocated Tk17,000 crore, or 5.67% of the ADP, for social development assistance programmes targeting low-income and marginalised groups, including family cards, farmer cards and allowances for employees of religious institutions.

Planning Commission officials said balanced regional development has also been prioritised through targeted initiatives in northern districts, the hill tracts, haor regions and coastal zones. These programmes focus on agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure, disaster management and the expansion of basic services. Planned urbanisation and safe housing projects were also highlighted as tools to reduce regional disparities.

The new ADP also includes Tk38,027.48 crore under "Special Development Assistance" and Tk17,000 crore under "Social Development Assistance." Separate allocations have been made for local government programmes, Chattogram Hill Tracts development and special area development outside the hill tracts.

In addition, Tk8,924.86 crore has been allocated for projects implemented by autonomous bodies and corporations from their own financing. Including self-financing, the total ADP size stands at Tk308,924.86 crore.

The FY27 ADP contains 1,150 funded projects, while another 1,277 new projects have been included without allocations. Officials said the proposed ADP was formulated in line with five pillars of the government's election manifesto, focusing on state reform, social development, economic restructuring, regional balance and socio-cultural cohesion.

Ministry and division-wise allocation

Among ministries and divisions, the Local Government Division received the highest allocation at Tk33,705.10 crore, or 11.25% of the ADP.

The Road Transport and Highways Division received the second-highest allocation with Tk30,741.36 crore, or 10.25%.

The Health Services Division and Secondary and Higher Education Division received Tk26,806.26 crore and Tk20,835.44 crore respectively.

Other major allocations include Tk19,440.59 crore for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Tk17,400.74 crore for the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Tk14,938.66 crore for the Power Division.

The Health Education and Family Welfare Division received Tk8,220.85 crore, the Ministry of Shipping Tk8,206.54 crore, and the Ministry of Water Resources Tk7,832.80 crore. Together, the top 10 ministries and divisions account for 62.72% of the total ADP allocation.

Rooppur gets highest project allocation

Planning Commission officials said the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant received the single largest allocation in the FY27 ADP at Tk15,499 crore. Of this, Tk14,688 crore will come from project aid, while Tk811 crore will come from government funds.

The proposed ADP allocates Tk53,622 crore to 15 large projects. Among them, the Dhaka MRT Line-5 (Northern Route) received the second-highest allocation at Tk7,350 crore, followed by the Matarbari Port Development Project at Tk4,838.70 crore.

Despite only 7.70% progress over seven years, the Tk41,239 crore MRT Line-5 project saw its allocation increase nearly fourfold from the revised Tk1,491 crore to Tk5,859 crore. Similarly, the Matarbari project will receive more than four times its current allocation in FY27.

Officials said the ADP review shows that, rather than significantly increasing allocations for megaprojects, the government prioritised mid-sized projects in power transmission, health, education and water management.

The MRT Line-1 project received Tk3,910 crore despite achieving only 9.29% progress so far. Projects involving power network expansion, secondary school development and school feeding programmes also received increased allocations. MRT Line-6, which is nearing completion, will receive Tk1,899 crore, alongside significant allocations for the Dhaka-Sylhet highway and the Chattogram-Dohazari railway project.

Five-year strategic framework approved

The NEC meeting also approved the government's "Five-year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development July 2026-June 2031."

The plan aims to create one crore jobs by 2030 and build a $1 trillion economy by 2034, roughly double the country's current economic size. It targets real GDP growth of 8.5% by FY2030-31, up from an estimated 4.2% in the current fiscal year.