Development work slows

The implementation of the annual development programme increased every month until December of the current fiscal year, but fell drastically, by 49 percent, in January from the previous month.

The slide was due to shutdowns and blockade, ongoing since January 6.

In January, Tk 3,364 crore of the ADP allocation was spent, against Tk 6,586 crore in December, according to the government's Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED). Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said 32 percent of the total outlay was spent in the first seven months of the fiscal year.

During July-January, Tk 25,858 crore of the ADP money was spent, up from Tk 21,857 crore in the same period a year ago, according to the IMED.

Zahid Hussain, lead economist at the World Bank's Dhaka office, told The Daily Star that ADP implementation usually remains slow at the beginning of a fiscal year, but it gathers momentum during the dry season.

Hussain said the fall in the implementation in January may be due to the political turmoil.

Earlier, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader had told The Daily Star that there have been some problems in movement of project officials, as well as transportation of project goods, due to the political unrest.

Quader had said, if the unrest lingers, the tenure of some projects may be extended.

An official of the planning ministry said some advance payments were made against the Padma bridge project by December last year and there were no such payments in January.