Rejaul Karim Byron

Three years after launch and with 99 percent of its budget unspent, a nearly Tk 1,700 crore customs modernisation project is set to be presented to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) today with a proposal to extend its deadline and raise costs by nearly 40 percent.

The government plans to set up at least one Urban Primary Health and Nutrition Centre in every ward of Dhaka North, Dhaka South, and Chattogram city corporations for residents deprived of care due to fragmented delivery of services.

Bangladesh is eyeing $2 billion in emergency aid from the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) window to cushion the economic shock stemming from the Middle East war.

Bangladesh and the International Monetary Fund are locked in new disagreements over the country’s economic programme, with tensions centring on social spending, revenue mobilisation, exchange rate policy, and the pace of financial sector reforms.

Officials in the 11-member delegation said Bangladesh pressed for additional funds to cover the shortfall caused by the energy crisis, beyond regular budget support

A high-level advisory committee, formed by the Planning Commission to develop a sustainable development strategy, plans to recommend the government introduce a bicameral parliament, reinstate the caretaker government system, and ensure media freedom.

Bangladesh will need an additional $2.61 billion in foreign exchange to pay the surging energy and fertiliser import bills for March-June period.

While the World Bank and Asian Development Bank had lowered Bangladesh’s GDP growth forecast due to the Persian Gulf crisis and domestic vulnerabilities, the International Monetary Fund has kept its earlier projection unchanged.