ADP implementation stalls at 21.52pc in July-January

Development activities, which slowed down amid the transition of power, saw a slight increase in expenditure in December but suffered another setback in January.

The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division, or MED, of the planning ministry said Annual Development Programme implementation increased in December compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year but declined again in January, agencies report.

In January, Tk 98.75 billion was spent on development projects, accounting for 3.55 percent of the total ADP.

In contrast, the expenditure in January of the 2023-24 fiscal year was Tk 127.25 billion, or 4.63 percent of the total ADP.

In December, ADP implementation spending stood at Tk 157.88 billion, which was 5.67 percent of the total allocation.

According to the latest ADP implementation data, the overall implementation rate for the first seven months, July to January, of the current fiscal year stands at 21.52 percent, compared with 27.11 percent in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

The IMED report reveals this is the lowest implementation rate in the first seven months in the past five years.

The ousted Awami League government had approved an ADP budget of Tk 2.78 trillion for the fiscal year 2024-25.

ADP implementation suffered a major setback following the anti-government protests by students and the public in July and August, which led to the fall of the Awami League government.

The interim government, which took office after Sheikh Hasina's removal, prioritised project implementation but also reduced allocations for several projects initiated by the previous government.

As a result, many ongoing projects stalled, contributing to lower ADP spending, according to officials.

Typically, ADP expenditure remains low in the early months of the fiscal year.

However, political instability further exacerbated the situation this time.

During a post-Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, or ECNEC, briefing in January, Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud hinted at an acceleration in project implementation.

“We now have several new projects coming in. Many previous projects required thorough review, were sent back, and had to be revised,” he said.
“This is the first time we are seeing our own new projects, especially at the local level. In this ECNEC meeting, projects were approved at a faster pace and in larger numbers,” he added.

However, in the post-ECNEC briefing in early February, he explained the decline in implementation rates, noting that previous rates were calculated based on the revised budget.

Typically, the revised ADP allocation is smaller than the original budget.

He also hinted at further cuts in this year's development budget and said the ADP revision process would begin in mid-February.