Public Investment: The Roots of Corruption

In countries like Bangladesh ensuring the availability and quality of public goods is vital for sustainable economic growth. Essential services such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, and clean water play a crucial role in fostering an environment that promotes economic activity and enhances the quality of life for citizens. At the macro level public investment promotes economic growth, investment and aggregate productivity while at the micro level public investment reduces poverty, and smoothen income distribution. However, it is the choice of public investment that becomes crucial to achieve these goals.
A dependable supply of public goods is fundamental for economic stability and attracting private investment. If public goods are insufficient, investors may perceive high risks and be reluctant to invest. Quality infrastructure, including roads, railways, ports, energy, and telecommunications, is essential for facilitating trade and connectivity. Inadequate infrastructure can lead to higher costs and delays, deterring business investment. Similarly, a well-educated workforce is key to driving innovation and productivity. Investing in public education equips citizens with the skills needed in the labour market, attracting industries that require skilled workers. Conversely, poor education systems can result in skill shortages, hindering businesses' ability to operate effectively.
In recent decades, there has been a notable increase in public investment projects, particularly in infrastructure such as bridges, roads, electricity, highways, expressways, and urban transportation. These projects have been financed mostly through public debt, including foreign and domestic sources, as well as multilateral and bilateral loans. As a result, Bangladesh's cumulative domestic debt has reached $155 billion, or Tk17,050 billion, with 60.73 per cent being domestic and 39.27 per cent foreign (Finance Division, 2023). This translates to a per capita cumulative debt of Tk98,554. Given this substantial fiscal burden, concerns arise over whether such public investment is a prudent approach for the country's economic development.
This chapter analyses the patterns of public expenditure by the Government of Bangladesh over the past decade, exploring the strategies, magnitude, and roles of government officials, politicians, and other stakeholders in contributing to a corruption crisis, which has resulted in Bangladesh's low ranking on the global corruption index.

Share of Public Expenditure in Selected Countries
Bangladesh has adopted an aggressive strategy to expand its public sector investments over the past decade, undertaking mega projects such as the Padma Bridge, a nuclear power station, metro rail in Dhaka, and tunnels in Chattogram. While the country's recent public expenditure growth has often been described as "breaking historic records," it is crucial to recognise that Bangladesh's spending remains significantly lower than that of many of its competing nations.
The trends in public expenditure across selected Asian countries reveals that Bangladesh significantly lags behind other major Asian nations. This disparity suggests that Bangladesh's public expenditure is not excessive or overly ambitious; instead, it is relatively low, being the lowest among comparable Asian economies. The country's inability to allocate more funds serves as a reminder of the importance of careful public expenditure management to maximise efficiency and returns on its modest investments. This approach is crucial for maintaining competitiveness in export potential with other countries. The underlying inefficiencies in our public expenditure are rooted in the misuse and mismanagement of funds alongside weak and opaque governance, which have likely aggravated the country's economic challenges. Therefore, it is crucial to undertake a comprehensive analysis and foster discussions aimed at addressing these obstacles to improve the effectiveness of public spending in Bangladesh.

Surge in Public Investment, Fiscal Burden and Impact on Private Investment
As Bangladesh's public expenditure surged to a historic high, analysis of non-development public expenditure indicates that there has been a notable increase in salaries and allowances since the fiscal year 2015-16. Many believed that the salary increase was intended to appease the bureaucracy that aided the government in rigging the 2014 election. However, given the low tax-GDP ratio, and due to heavy public debt, interest payments on loan have surged since 2017-18 and it surpassed even the amount of salaries and allowances of the government.
Economic crisis and political unrest gave rise to public agitation. Allegation against corruption in public expenses rose. This led to restrictions on the Right to Information Act and the use of the Digital Security Act -- which saw over 7,000 cases between 2018 and 2023 -- and limited transparency of the government. These measures concentrated power within the executive, reducing accountability and enabling corruption. A requirement for the Prime Minister's approval before prosecuting government employees under the Anti-corruption Act further shielded officials from accountability.
A Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) survey in 2021 highlighted rising corruption, with 70.9% of households encountering corruption in public services. Law enforcement, the Passport Office, and the Road Transport Authority were notably corrupt, with 56.8% of respondents experiencing judicial system corruption and 48.7% in public health. This corruption rise, from 66.5% in 2017 to 70.9% in 2021, led to bribes amounting to BDT 1.83 billion -- 5.9% of the 2020-21 government budget -- indicating pervasive corruption even within the judiciary.
In the 2010s, Bangladesh aimed for robust economic growth, launching its Vision 2021 with targets of 7.4% annual growth as per the 7th Five Year Plan, and 8.5% for the 8th Plan. This growth was expected to come from infrastructure investments spurring private investments. However, rising corruption, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic slowdown led to stagnation by late 2022. Although the GDP growth was 6.94% in 2020-21, the anticipated growth rates for subsequent years were not achieved, resulting in slowed employment growth and heightened unemployment among educated youth.
A report noted that unemployment among tertiary-educated youth rose from 9.7% in 2013 to 27.8% in 2022, as many struggled to find suitable jobs. The situation, described as "jobless growth," was exacerbated by government job quotas that limited opportunities for graduates. Growing discontent led to student protests in July 2024, ultimately resulting in the government's ousting. This diagnostic study was initiated to re-evaluate the state of the economy and propose corrective measures.

The Pattern of Public Expenditure and Issues
To address this dilemma, we analyse the trend and pattern of the Government of Bangladesh's development expenditure over the past decade. A prominent theme during this period has been an emphasis on large-scale infrastructure projects, aimed at facilitating development and transitioning Bangladesh away from its Least Developed Country (LDC) status. This focus on infrastructure has formed the central narrative of the government's growth strategy.
The average annual growth rate public expenditure from 2010 to 2023 was 6.6% in ADP and annual amount of public expenditure in 2023 is about 1.45 times that of 2011. There are, however, two peaks: one in 2014 -- the election year, and other one in 2017-18 fiscal years - prior to election. One of the major investment items in these years was the construction of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project with an actual investment of $3.868 billion. The original cost of the project was $1.2 billion -- an increase by 222% (Bangladesh Bridge Authority, n.d.). The project was completed in 7 years from 2014.
Between 2010 and 2023, around 7 lakh crore taka were spent on projects across various sectors through the Annual Development Plans. However, an analysis of the budget by the Center for Policy Dialogue reveals that in 2016, 38% of projects were financed fully or partially by foreign funds, a sharp decline to just 11% in 2023, indicating a significant decrease in foreign-funded projects. Additionally, nearly 40 projects (3.2%) had an allocation of only 1 lakh, representing ghost projects that lacked legitimate justification for financing. The analysis also highlights that approximately 31.4% of the projects experienced time overruns of 6 to 10 years, with nearly 3% facing overruns exceeding 10 years. These findings suggest issues related to project management, accountability, and the effectiveness of public expenditure in Bangladesh.
The revised budget reveals a considerable allocation of 21.2% to Public Administration, indicating an emphasis on strengthening the civil bureaucracy, which could be seen as a reward from the government for 15 years of 'service' amid criticisms of democratic backsliding. While significant investments in transport, rural infrastructure, and power are essential for economic development and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), the high levels of corruption within these sectors raise serious concerns about the effective use of public funds. The five sectors that received the most public expenditure -- Transport and Communication, Power and Energy, Education, Housing and Community Amenities, and Health -- together account for nearly 71% of total expenditure.
In addition to these issues, there are criticisms on spending surrounding the "last quarter syndrome" in our expenditure pattern, where a significant portion of the annual budget is spent hastily in the final quarter of each fiscal year, resulting in a near-dumping of funds during the rainy season. Efforts to address this through the introduction of a three-year rolling budget have not successfully resolved the problem. Moreover, many argue that a "construction bias" in public expenditures contributes to inefficiencies. This phenomenon often leads to projects being designed primarily with construction in mind, neglecting important operational components in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) packages. For instance, many school buildings are constructed without accounting for essential furnishings needed for classrooms or laboratory equipment required to equip science labs.
To address the issues of misallocation, mismanagement, and inefficiencies in public expenditure in Bangladesh, it is essential to have a clear understanding of its institutional framework. The following section offers insights into the design, monitoring, and implementation of projects in Bangladesh to inform the development of effective strategies for improvement.

Navigating the Public Expenditure
Decision-Making Process
Many people in Bangladesh believe that a significant portion of public expenditure over the past decade has been misappropriated by the the-then ruling government and its institutions. This deeply rooted perception is difficult to alter, leading us to begin our investigation with a critical question: How did this happen? More specifically, how has such a high level of corruption persisted over time despite the existence of numerous agencies responsible for monitoring these irregularities? To understand this issue, we must first examine the decision-making process behind public expenditure in the government.

Project Selection and Implementation: Processes and Weaknesses
Government expenditures in Bangladesh are classified into two main categories: a) recurrent expenditures, which include salaries, allowances, and consumables necessary for the regular operation of government entities; and b) development and capital expenditures, which are allocated for investments and the maintenance of public infrastructure. Development expenditures are typically organised into specific projects by various government agencies and are subject to rigorous evaluation by several ministries, including the Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs during the initiation process.
Each project must meet several requirements, and it includes: a) an economic and financial feasibility analysis for projects with investments exceeding 50 crores taka; b) environmental clearances from the Department of Environment for projects classified as Red and Orange; c) financial clearances from the Ministry of Finance for investments provided by the Government of Bangladesh; and d) gender analysis conducted by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. In addition, the Ministry of Planning is responsible for analysing its contribution to poverty reduction. These are in addition to other technical requirements used in project formulation.
Furthermore, each project is developed and designed using Logical Framework Analysis, which outlines its goals, objectives, outputs, and activities to ensure proper project design. Once project formulation is complete, those with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) exceeding 12% in recent years (previously it was 15%) -- the social discount rate -- are submitted for approval at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meetings. However, it is unclear whether this discount rate is based on real or nominal values. This is because when all data in the cost benefit analysis are in constant prices, the relevant discount rate should be a real discount rate.
However, once approved by the ECNEC, which is chaired by the Prime Minister and co-chaired by the Minister for Planning, the projects are implemented by the respective agencies. During the implementation phase, the line ministry of the implementing agency, along with the Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning, and the Ministry of Finance, monitors the project's progress on a quarterly basis to ensure timely execution. The Project Directors cannot spend any money beyond the expense limits outlined within the project document known as DPP or Development Project Proforma.
According to the ECNEC guidelines, a project document may be revised up to three times to accommodate unforeseen changes in expenses or in activities. Each revision must receive approval from the relevant ministry and may also require re-approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) if the revised costs exceed 15% of the total allocation. Unfortunately, these revisions often lead to increases in both project costs and durations, with actual expenses in some cases rising as much as 400% above the original planned amounts.
However, the revised Development Project Proposals (DPP), which represent the total expenditure of the projects, do not receive the same rigorous evaluation concerning the return on investment for these adjustments. This lack of thorough scrutiny may suggest that many of the revisions lead to investments that are "uneconomic" and infeasible.
Finally, upon project completion, a Project Completion Report is submitted by the Project Directors, and IMED evaluates the project. Additionally, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of the Government of Bangladesh reviews each project, including all expenditures, to check for any unlawful practices or processes. Finally, the CAG's report is submitted to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament for discussion and further action. The ACC is also responsible for investigating any wrongdoings during the implementation of the project.
The process for expenditure management is standard in many countries, yet it is often followed in a clerical manner across project offices. Despite this system of control and monitoring, there is a widespread public belief that nearly 40% of all government expenditures are misappropriated. This concern has been frequently voiced in discussions throughout our public consultation process, prompting us to examine the spending process and the institutional oversight mechanisms in place.

Scrutinising Public Spending: Processes and Oversight Mechanisms
Despite initiating major projects such as the Padma Bridge, Karnaphuli River Tunnel, and the metro rail in Dhaka, Bangladesh continues to grapple with significant infrastructure deficiencies. While the government underscores the necessity of infrastructure development, many projects appear to have been approved without thorough evaluation of their long-term economic impacts and are often influenced by political motivations. On average, each year the Government used to fund nearly 1200-1500 projects in the ADP.
Many projects have been part of election campaigns, with ceremonies like laying foundation stones or cutting ribbons used to "officially" declare them open, even when they were not ready for public use. A stark example of this is Terminal 3 at Dhaka airport. This trend is evident even for caretaker governments, which might seem unusual since they have no electoral incentive. For instance, the Caretaker Government of 2006 inaugurated the Bijoy Sarani flyover in Dhaka before it was fully completed and ready for public use. Consequently, while these projects adhere to the established selection process, they are frequently implemented hastily, without adequate analysis of their costs and benefits. This approach results in many projects becoming unviable, ultimately imposing a significant burden on the government budget.
Additionally, there is a widespread perception that many of these projects serve merely as showpieces for the government, designed to cultivate a false sense of national pride and allow the ruling political party to showcase superficial progress. Given the pervasive concerns about corruption expressed by many individuals consulted during our investigation, we felt it necessary to examine several key documents to uncover the true narratives behind these initiatives for the public.

Oversight Mechanisms and Their Limitations
In addition to the line Ministries and the Ministry of Finance, several other institutional mechanisms exist to scrutinise public expenditure and prevent misappropriation. These include the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning, which is responsible for producing evaluation reports. Below, we examine some of their key recommendations.

CAG's observations
In 2022, the Comptroller and Auditor General's office of the Government of Bangladesh produced 51 compliance reports after auditing various organisations and ministries. Key observations regarding the causes of irregularities included: a) violations of government rules by multiple agencies, including regulatory bodies such as Bangladesh Bank; b) expenditures on non-existent projects; c) embezzlement of funds; d) non-compliance with public procurement acts and regulations; and e) violations of government orders or directives from regulatory agencies.
In 2021, the CAG's Office noted over 13,000 audit observations involving a total of 1,26,592 crore taka. The highest number of audit discrepancies came from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, amounting to 32,946 crore taka, followed by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works at 26,089 crore taka, the Power Division at 16,214 crore taka, the Ministry of Home Affairs at 6,577 crore taka, the Prime Minister's Office at 6,111 crore taka, and the Bridge Division at 4,372 crore taka, among others.
A high number of audit observations reflects the incompetencies within the bureaucracy who were overseeing these projects. There is a noticeable positive correlation between the budget allocations for various sectors and the number of audit observations they receive. This situation is concerning. When the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports audit violations amounting to thousands of crore taka in projects, even those under the Prime Minister's office, it conveys a detrimental message to others and undermines trust in the management of public funds.

Public Accounts Committee
In 2022, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament addressed audit observations and managed to resolve 357 out of over 22,000 observations from 2021, totaling 10,537 crore taka. Of this amount, 4,052 crore taka were successfully recovered or adjusted. Notably, nearly half of the recovered funds were linked to the Ministry of Road, Transport, and Bridges, which were duly recovered and accounted for. According to PAC records, it took over 200 days to resolve these issues. The high volume of audit observations make it challenging for the PAC to address them effectively every year.

Anti-Corruption Commission
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is a statutory organisation established by the Government of Bangladesh in 2004. However, its effectiveness has been questionable, with a brief period of notable performance between 2007 and 2008. Although the Commission is intended to function as an "independent and impartial institution for the control and prevention of corruption," it has often been influenced by political authorities.
Public trust in the ACC has significantly declined, evidenced by a 29% drop in the number of complaints received between 2019 and 2023. The rate of investigations initiated in response to these complaints has remained low, at nearly 5%, and the number of cases referred to ministries for action has decreased from 17% in 2019 to just 5% in 2023. This gradual erosion of the Commission's power to combat corruption is a key factor contributing to the rising levels of corruption in the country. On the contrary, the ACC is accused of being used to silence the political opponents in the country. Despite the significant sums of taka reported to be embezzled in various projects, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) appears to have taken little to no meaningful action against those responsible. This lack of accountability raises concerns about the effectiveness of the ACC in addressing corruption and safeguarding public funds.

IMED of the Ministry of Planning
The Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division (IMED) is a key branch of the Ministry of Planning, responsible for overseeing development projects during implementation and providing comprehensive evaluation reports on completed projects. Discussions with individuals associated with IMED and examination of various evaluation reports have highlighted several reasons for delays and cost overruns in these projects.
Key factors contributing to these issues include: a) difficulties related to land acquisition and associated litigations; b) poor-quality feasibility studies and inaccurate cost estimates; c) the fragmentation of contracts into smaller packages, which results in inefficient execution often linked to local extortion and payouts to local political figures; d) rising costs of construction materials; e) damages from water-logging caused by inadequate drainage designs during road construction; and f) frequent transfers of Project Directors, among others.
Many of these inefficiencies are intricately linked to corruption, even if this connection is not explicitly acknowledged in their reports. For example, the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) reported inadequate cost assessments and subpar feasibility studies as far back as 2012, yet there has been little meaningful progress in these areas within the Planning Ministry. This lack of improvement continues to result in escalating project costs.
Moreover, the persistent absence of proper drainage systems in road designs has been highlighted in many evaluation reports, yet this issue remains unaddressed, leading to damage in newly constructed roads and increased maintenance costs for these projects. Evaluation reports are intended to serve as valuable input for designing similar future projects; however, this essential practice appears to be lacking within the ministry.

Understanding the Roots of Corruption: Systemic Issues and Systemic Failures
Given the observed trends within institutions tasked with monitoring corruption in public expenditure, it is crucial to assess the extent of corruption in Bangladesh. It is evident that many public institutions are either non-functional, ineffective, or lack the sophistication needed to accurately depict the rampant corruption and misuse of public funds. Nevertheless, these institutions have indirectly highlighted bottlenecks, raised concerns regarding public spending, and identified practices that contribute to the mismanagement of public resources.
The clear lack of institutional oversight on government expenditure, the absence of accountability for culprits, and the failure to impose sanctions on corrupt officials, combined with extortion at both national and local levels, have all contributed to the misappropriation of significant public funds. Lapses within government offices regarding efficient cost estimation and appropriate project design, along with collusion among politicians, bureaucrats, and contractors, have further exacerbated the problem.
This cycle of corruption has intensified over time as public spending has increased; it can also be argued that the funds that fuelled corruption have led to the development of increasingly larger projects -- a reverse causality. Consequently, public expenditure has grown significantly over the years, creating a perpetual loop where corruption begets more spending, which in turn fosters greater corruption.
The situation mirrors that of government initiatives aimed at capacity building, where powerful individuals within the bureaucracy exploit opportunities for personal gain. Many of these officials travel abroad using public money, often leaving those who would genuinely benefit from exposure or training behind -- a glaring example of misuse of public funds. This issue is closely tied to the hierarchical nature of power and authority within civil bureaucracy. The opaque decision-making processes foster collusion, whereby various groups participate in these so-called "tour" programs, traveling abroad without a legitimate need. Furthermore, the institutions and individuals responsible for oversight are often complicit in this collusion, undermining the integrity of capacity-building efforts.
During one of the consultations, it was reported that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) developed software for the online submission of VAT returns with support from A2I (access to information) office, marking a positive step toward reducing the hassle for businesses. However, users encountered a significant issue: one user noted the absence of a "SUBMIT" button, rendering the software ineffective.
This could indicate a fault in the software's design or, more disturbingly, a deliberate attempt by the VAT office to render the software useless in order to profit illegally from the physical submission of VAT returns. The failure to detect this problem or issue an apology by the VAT office strongly suggests corrupt intent within the organisation.
The Government of Bangladesh initiated a Livelihood Improvement project known as the "Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment, and Governance Projects" from 2013 to 2018, with an original budget of 521.97 crore taka. However, the actual expenditure amounted to 774.72 crore taka, reflecting a 43% increase over the initial allocation. This large capacity-building initiative aimed to promote the IT sector and train 30,000 individuals for employment within it.
The evaluation report from IMED stated a high level of satisfaction with the project's success. However, it inaccurately attributed the benefits solely to the project, overlooking the contributions of training institutions, colleges, and universities that also played a role in advancing the sector. Additionally, the quality of the evaluation report was inadequate, as it failed to distinguish the marginal impacts of training 30,000 individuals on the entire IT sector.
This analytical weakness in assessing the project's impacts has contributed to the continuation of various ICT sector and other projects that lack tangible benefits. It highlights the need for more robust evaluations to ensure that future initiatives are grounded in a clear understanding of their actual contributions to the sector.

Measuring the Magnitude of Corruption in Public Spending
In this section, we provide a rough estimate of the level of corruption based on secondary research materials and insights gathered during consultations conducted throughout the brief period of our study.
Discussions with a diverse range of individuals, including public officials, social leaders, local elites, and youths during our inquiry, have led us to conclude that corruption was rampant due to the abuse of authority by bureaucrats, law enforcement agencies, and political powers. This pervasive issue is worsened by the absence of law and order and a lack of justice in society. Many individuals find the prevailing situation intolerable yet feel powerless to effect change due to the opaque nature of governance in Bangladesh. At all levels, the government lacks accountability to public scrutiny, there are no opportunities for public consultation in project design, and the costs associated with these projects are often concealed from the general public.
Transparency International, Bangladesh has been working on tracing practices of corruption in Bangladesh for many years. In its report in 2024 on infrastructure projects, it estimated that nearly 5-6% of project costs are paid by contractors as bribes to Project Team, nearly 6-8% is paid by contractors as bribes to field inspection teams, as such about 11-14% of the project costs are bribes. The report suggests that in road sector and infrastructure projects nearly 10-20% are paid to local politicians, other contractors and senior officials for ensuring a collusive practice that exists during bidding process for awarding contracts; 2-6% are paid for renting tender licenses, selling work orders, compromises, collusive or coercive practices like bribes or extortions, etc. Consequently, for construction projects nearly 23-40% of the project costs is the corruption rate. Of all the development expenditure of the government, nearly 80% of the projects are linked to procurement of goods and services including construction, land purchase, land development, equipment purchases and so on, while the rest are capacity building or technical support projects. As such, the government had initiated several procedural changes including e-procurement using e-GP portal on 10 procuring entities in 2012, and the PPR or public procurement regulation (2008) on their purchases.
Analysis of e-GP data shows that procurement processes have primarily been adhered to within the Local Government Division and the Transport sector. However, while the use of the e-GP system reached its peak in 2019, it has since declined. Further investigation reveals that despite compliance with the e-GP system, nearly 70% of contracts were awarded to local contractors. This trend suggests the existence of a powerful local collusion among contractors, making it challenging to disrupt entrenched practices in the procurement process.
All these practices and irregularities have resulted in significant misuse of public funds. Over the past 15 years, approximately 7,00,000 crore taka have been allocated for procuring various goods and services, including the construction of roads, bridges, power infrastructure, hospitals, and educational facilities, among others. It is thus estimated that between 1,61,000 crore and 2,80,000 crore taka may have been used as bribes and extortions at various levels, solely derived from public expenditure on development projects. Between 77,000 and 98,000 crore taka of these were simply bribes paid to government officials while between 70,000 and 1,40,000 crore taka were extortions by politicians and their accomplices and the rest are spent on collusive payments.
Much of this money is often paid in cash or in kind, both domestically and internationally, by contractors to bureaucrats and politicians who have family members living abroad. This practice facilitates the laundering of significant amounts of corrupt funds outside the country. Domestically, a significant portion of these funds is invested in sectors such as real estate, fisheries, agriculture, and transportation, where investments are often technically non-traceable. This lack of transparency makes it challenging to track the origins and flow of these funds, allowing for the potential misuse of resources.

Toward a Solution: Strategies for Addressing Corruption in Public Spending While it is challenging to define a singular approach to combat corruption in Bangladesh, certain common themes have emerged. The discussions and consultations that occurred during this deliberation have led us to propose the following measures.

Professional approach to feasibility studies
One significant lapse in the process is the absence of professionalism being applied to feasibility studies, resulting in underestimating project costs and subsequently inflating the internal rate of return estimates to get the projects approved at ECNEC. Although the government allocates funds for efficient project design, this is often done hastily and without the necessary professional rigor, particularly in projects financed by the Government of Bangladesh compared to those funded by donors. Since 2021, ECNEC has mandated the use of economic analysis for all projects; however, due to persistent errors in cost estimations, this requirement may ultimately prove ineffective. All project costs and benefits shall be measured in constant price and a real discount rate shall be used for economic feasibility analysis.

Ensuring Integrity: Mitigating Political Influences in Project Selection
While it is acknowledged that project selection often reflects political priorities, it is essential to ensure that chosen projects do not lead to the mismanagement of public funds and create debt traps for a developing country like Bangladesh. There has been a noticeable bias towards projects that serve as political showpieces for the government. To mitigate this issue, it is crucial for the Minister of Planning and the Planning Division to operate with professionalism and be staffed by individuals with the necessary expertise. Additionally, the planning units within each line ministry should be supported by a strong professional team to ensure sound decision-making and effective management of public resources. For this, competencies must be developed through training.