230pc higher fund for communications sector proposed
Friday, 11 June 2010
FE Report
The proposed budget is set to provide a significant volume of funds for the communications sector giving over 230 per cent higher allotment to the sector's single agency to implement its lone bridge construction project on the river Padma.
The budget for 2010-2011 fiscal proposed to allot Tk 127.7 billion for the Bridges Division alone for implementing the country's mega Padma bridge project. The division received Tk 38.5 billion in the last year's budget.
The total budget for the transport and communications has been planned at Tk 884.3 billion for the 2010-11 fiscal, which is Tk 199.3 billion higher than the last year's budget.
Finance minister AMA Muhith in his budget speech on Thursday proposed an allocation of Tk 754.9 billion Roads and Railways Division and Bridges Division from development and non-development segments.
"The allocation is 26.6 per cent higher than the revised budget in the last fiscal," the finance minister said in his speech.
The finance minister, for the upcoming year, proposed an integrated development of the communications sector and decided to keep funds for the second Padma bridge, improving roads, rails and waterways in and around Dhaka city to ease traffic jam.
The finance minister emphasised improving the city's traffic congestion through a 32-km elevated expressway, circular waterway and railway surrounding Dhaka and proposed to enhance navigability of waterways, capacity enhancement of Chittagong and Mongla ports, establishment of deep-sea port, widening of internet coverage and of digital infrastructure for improving overall communications system of the country.
A special tax incentive has also been proposed in the budget for investors allowing infrastructure depreciation allowance on physical infrastructures like bridge-roads, flyovers, or any infrastructure to be built under PPP initiatives.
In the budget speech, AMA Muhith reiterated the government commitments on speedy implementation of the US$ 2.4 billion Padma Bridge by 2013 and confirmed receiving of the concessionary credit to meet the probable costs of the bridge construction.
Pointing to the socio-economic development of the south and south-western region of the country and establishing direct road link between Barisal and Khulna divisions, the minister said the Padma Bridge and Bekutia Bridge on Kotcha river across Pirojpur-Jhalakati road have been taken in the new budget to boost economic activities.
The finance minister highlighted the need for development in rail and water sectors and said an Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy (IMTP) is almost at the final stage targeting an integrated development to cover the neglected railway and waterway sectors.
The minister admitted that Dhaka city's traffic jam has now become a routine problem causing loss of thousands of working hours every day and proposed to increase the price of CNG, raise the import duty on cars in the next fiscal year's budget. He said constructions of flyovers at Bishwa Road, Airport Road connecting point, and stretching from Mirpur to Airport Road and an overpass at the Banani crossing are now underway.
For the rail and roads, the budget has set a target to allot Tk Tk 616.3 billion proposing to continue the reform in the Bangladesh Railway and improving its link with Trans-Asian Railway network and alternative routes.
The minister said a 20-year Railway Master Plan to identify and solve the problems of the railway sector and a master plan for construction of underground railway system are also in the offing.
For the sea and waterways, the budget has proposed Tk 56.80 billion indicating at continuing the efforts for exploring foreign assistance for a deep-sea port at Sonadia. The finance minister said 12 land ports on BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) basis will also be developed.
The proposed budget is set to provide a significant volume of funds for the communications sector giving over 230 per cent higher allotment to the sector's single agency to implement its lone bridge construction project on the river Padma.
The budget for 2010-2011 fiscal proposed to allot Tk 127.7 billion for the Bridges Division alone for implementing the country's mega Padma bridge project. The division received Tk 38.5 billion in the last year's budget.
The total budget for the transport and communications has been planned at Tk 884.3 billion for the 2010-11 fiscal, which is Tk 199.3 billion higher than the last year's budget.
Finance minister AMA Muhith in his budget speech on Thursday proposed an allocation of Tk 754.9 billion Roads and Railways Division and Bridges Division from development and non-development segments.
"The allocation is 26.6 per cent higher than the revised budget in the last fiscal," the finance minister said in his speech.
The finance minister, for the upcoming year, proposed an integrated development of the communications sector and decided to keep funds for the second Padma bridge, improving roads, rails and waterways in and around Dhaka city to ease traffic jam.
The finance minister emphasised improving the city's traffic congestion through a 32-km elevated expressway, circular waterway and railway surrounding Dhaka and proposed to enhance navigability of waterways, capacity enhancement of Chittagong and Mongla ports, establishment of deep-sea port, widening of internet coverage and of digital infrastructure for improving overall communications system of the country.
A special tax incentive has also been proposed in the budget for investors allowing infrastructure depreciation allowance on physical infrastructures like bridge-roads, flyovers, or any infrastructure to be built under PPP initiatives.
In the budget speech, AMA Muhith reiterated the government commitments on speedy implementation of the US$ 2.4 billion Padma Bridge by 2013 and confirmed receiving of the concessionary credit to meet the probable costs of the bridge construction.
Pointing to the socio-economic development of the south and south-western region of the country and establishing direct road link between Barisal and Khulna divisions, the minister said the Padma Bridge and Bekutia Bridge on Kotcha river across Pirojpur-Jhalakati road have been taken in the new budget to boost economic activities.
The finance minister highlighted the need for development in rail and water sectors and said an Integrated Multimodal Transport Policy (IMTP) is almost at the final stage targeting an integrated development to cover the neglected railway and waterway sectors.
The minister admitted that Dhaka city's traffic jam has now become a routine problem causing loss of thousands of working hours every day and proposed to increase the price of CNG, raise the import duty on cars in the next fiscal year's budget. He said constructions of flyovers at Bishwa Road, Airport Road connecting point, and stretching from Mirpur to Airport Road and an overpass at the Banani crossing are now underway.
For the rail and roads, the budget has set a target to allot Tk Tk 616.3 billion proposing to continue the reform in the Bangladesh Railway and improving its link with Trans-Asian Railway network and alternative routes.
The minister said a 20-year Railway Master Plan to identify and solve the problems of the railway sector and a master plan for construction of underground railway system are also in the offing.
For the sea and waterways, the budget has proposed Tk 56.80 billion indicating at continuing the efforts for exploring foreign assistance for a deep-sea port at Sonadia. The finance minister said 12 land ports on BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) basis will also be developed.