The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a record Tk3 lakh crore Annual Development Program (ADP) for the upcoming 2026–27 fiscal year.
The development budget was approved on Monday (18 May) during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the NEC Conference Room in the capital's Agargaon.
Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury stated, "A development budget of Tk3 lakh crore has been passed. We have prioritized the implementation of our election manifesto. An elected government has passed the ADP after a long time, and the ADP implementation rate will increase this time."
The Finance Minister added that special emphasis has been placed on executing the election manifesto, which will boost the government's project implementation rate. He noted that the development budget has been designed with a priority on the health and education sectors, adding that Tk6,008 crore has been allocated for the ongoing projects of the Health Services Division.
However, the most discussed topic of this year's ADP has been the unusually high block allocation, which accounts for more than one-third of the total development budget.
According to the working paper of the Planning Commission, the total size of the ADP for the next fiscal year is set at Tk3 lakh crore. Out of this, the government's internal financing (GoB portion) stands at Tk1 lakh 90 thousand crore, while foreign loans and grants account for Tk1 lakh 10 thousand crore. Furthermore, an additional Tk8,924 crore from the autonomous bodies and corporations' own funds brings the total development expenditure to over Tk3 lakh 8 thousand 924 crore.
A block allocation of approximately Tk1 lakh 18 thousand 288 crore has been kept across various ministries, special development assistance, and social development assistance. On the other hand, direct project-based allocation stands at around Tk1 lakh 81 thousand 711 crore. This means a major portion of the development budget remains outside specific projects, raising questions regarding financial transparency and accountability.
The working paper shows that Tk38,027 crore has been earmarked for development assistance under special needs, and another Tk17,000 crore for social development assistance. Besides, Tk59,296 crore has been allocated as block funds under various ministries. This type of unassigned allocation is significantly higher than at any time in the past. For instance, the block allocation for the same division stands at Tk20,800 crore, which is nearly three and a half times higher than its project-based allocation. Similarly, while the allocation for ongoing projects of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education is Tk5,048 crore, its block allocation is Tk14,392 crore. The Technical and Madrasah Education Division has also received a block allocation of Tk3,079 crore.
In sector-wise allocations, the transport and communication sector received the highest chunk of Tk50,092 crore, which is 16.70 percent of the total ADP. The education sector followed with Tk47,591 crore or 15.86 percent. Additionally, Tk35,535 crore was allocated to the health sector, Tk32,691 crore to the power and energy sector, and Tk20,361 crore to the housing and community facilities sector.
Ministry-wise, the Local Government Division received the highest allocation at Tk33,735 crore. The Road Transport and Highways Division secured the second position with an allocation of Tk30,741 crore. The Health Services Division, Secondary and Higher Education Division, Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, and the Power Division also received substantial allocations.
As part of the government's social safety net program, special allocations have been introduced in this ADP. Out of the Tk17,000 crore social development assistance fund, the lion's share of Tk14,500 crore has been assigned under the Ministry of Social Welfare for the Family Card program. Another Tk1,400 crore has been kept under the Ministry of Agriculture for the Farmer Card program. Furthermore, Tk1,100 crore has been allocated through the Ministry of Religious Affairs to provide honorariums to those managing mosques and other places of worship.
A total of 1,121 projects have been proposed for inclusion in the next fiscal year's ADP. This includes 949 investment projects, 107 technical assistance projects, and 43 projects funded by the autonomous bodies' own finances. Alongside these, 1,277 new unapproved projects have been listed, which will be considered for phased approval. Meanwhile, a target has been set to complete 223 projects by this June.
However, doubts have already been raised regarding the implementation capacity of such a massive development budget. In the first 9 months (July to March) of the current 2025–26 fiscal year, the ADP implementation rate stood at a mere 36.19 percent. The implementation rate under GoB funding was slightly above 33 percent, while the utilization of foreign loans and grants was around 40 percent. In light of this reality, skepticism remains over how feasible it will be to implement an even larger ADP.
