<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Sunday approved a Tk 4323-crore ‘Resilient Infrastructure for Adaptation and Vulnerability Reduction Project (RIVER)’ in a bid to reduce flood risk in the riparian and flash flood-prone community and enhance disaster preparedness.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>Seven other development projects also got approval in the Ecnec meeting presided over by Ecnec chair and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC conference room in the capital.</div><div><br></div><div>“Today eight projects were approved and the overall estimated cost of the projects is Tk 12,167.15 crore (only additional cost of two revised projects counted here),” said State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam at a press briefing after the meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the total money, Tk 3,097.91 crore will be drawn from the national exchequer, while Tk 8,912.77 crore will come from foreign sources and the rest Tk 156.47 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the approved 8 projects, 6 are fresh projects while 2 others are revised projects.</div><div><br></div><div>Besides, the meeting gave approval to time extension of four other projects without raising their cost.</div><div><br></div><div>According to the Planting Commission, the Resilient Infrastructure for Adaptation and Vulnerability Reduction Project (RIVER) will be implemented in 78 upazilas of 14 districts by June 2028 involving Tk 4,323.47 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>Of the project cost, Tk 4,275 crore will come from external sources (IDA).</div><div><br></div><div>The main objective of the RIVER project is to reduce flood risk for the riparian and flash flood-prone community and enhance disaster preparedness and response capacity.</div><div><br></div><div>The major project operations include construction of 500 primary schools cum flood shelter centres, installation of 100 solar power grids, development of 275 km link roads maintaining 150-metre height to connect flood shelter centres, construction of 500-metre bridges and 1,330-metre culverts, and development of 110km community infrastructure link roads.</div><div><br></div><div>Five other new projects include South Chattogram Regional Development (SCRD) project with the estimated cost of Tk 3,644.92 crore;&nbsp; Customs Modernization and Infrastructural Development Project with Tk 1,686.47 crore; Mymensingh District Rural Infrastructural Development project with Tk 1,000 crore; Rehabilitation and River bank projection of Meghna-Dhonagoda Irrigation Project with Tk 347.65 crore; and Promoting Gender Responsive Enterprise Development and TVET System (ProGRESS) Project with Tk 128.61 crore.</div><div><br></div><div>The two revised projects are Expansion of South-Western Power Transmission-Grid (1st revised) Project with additional cost of Tk 1,048.47 crore (now total cost raised at Tk 4,322.35 crore); and Urban Resilience Project (URP): Project Coordination and Monitoring Unit (PCMU) (3rd revised) with a cost reduction of Tk 12.44 crore (now its cost came down to Tk 32.86 crore). - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>