A total of 16 development projects are lined up for consideration at the next meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
They comprise six new proposals, six revisions of ongoing projects, and four seeking deadline extensions without cost escalation.
The six new projects involve an estimated outlay of Tk 120.99 billion, say sources at the Planning Commission.
Of the total, Tk 83.86 billion is set to be financed from the government's own resources, while the remaining Tk 37.13 billion is likely to be mobilised from external sources as project assistance, they add.
The planning ministry is moving to tighten scrutiny ahead of the next ECNEC meeting after officials from the Planning Commission and line ministries were unable to satisfactorily respond to a series of queries raised by the prime minister in the April 6 session.
As part of the effort, the ministry will hold a special meeting on Sunday to review projects awaiting placement at ECNEC, say sources.
The meeting, to be chaired by Planning Division Secretary SM Shankal Akhter, is likely to be attended by the prime minister's adviser on economy and planning, Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, and State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki.
Officials say the preparatory review will examine the overall rationale of each project, the justification of key components, and the component-wise cost estimates.
The Local Government Division (LGD) proposed a Tk 9.21 billion project on installing 62 new deep tube wells and rehabilitating 728 existing ones, aiming to extract an additional 576 million litres of water per day (MLD) from ground sources to meet the rising demand.
The project titled "Emergency Water Supply in Dhaka City" is to be implemented by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA).
The Planning Commission and independent experts have criticised the project, which includes activities that contradict DWASA's master plan to increase the share of surface water to 70 per cent of the total supply by 2021 from 20 per cent in 2011.
Experts say the project is harmful to the capital's ecosystem, adding DWASA initiated it to mask the failure to advance Tk 331.36 billion investments in surface water supply initiatives.
The Roads and Highways Division (RTHD) has proposed a project, estimated to cost Tk 36.77 billion, to build five climate-resilient bridges over key rivers in the border areas of Mymensingh and Netrokona, aiming to strengthen regional connectivity and unlock economic potential in the country's north-eastern districts.
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) will provide Tk 27.65 billion in non-concessional loans to implement the project.
Bangladesh signed a loan agreement of $241.3 million with the development lender during the latter's annual meeting in Algiers last year, which was later approved by the government's non-concessional loan committee.
Titled "Construction of Five Climate Resilient Bridges in Mymensingh Division", the project will be implemented by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) by January 2031.
The health ministry proposed a project titled "Expanding Access to integrated health care to the Urban Population" with an estimated cost of Tk 11.57 billion.
The government will provide Tk 2.08 billion from its exchequer for the project, while the World Bank has committed loan support of Tk 9.49 billion.
A Tk 20.29 billion project for the maintenance and rehabilitation of railway tracks in the western zone of Bangladesh Railway (phase I) is awaiting approval, to be fully financed by the government's own funds.
The second phase of a border road construction project in the hill districts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari, and Bandarban is estimated to cost Tk 36.66 billion.
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