PM Tarique Rahman takes charge of ECNEC

The government has officially formed the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman designated as chairman of the nation's principal authority responsible for sanctioning public investment initiatives.

A gazette notification released Thursday detailed the committee's membership structure, administrative support framework and operational mandate.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been named Vice-Chairman of the reconstituted body.

The committee composition encompasses several key cabinet positions including the ministers responsible for Finance, Housing and Public Works, Foreign Affairs, Industries, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Health and Family Welfare, and Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping.

The Planning Minister will participate as a committee member while the Secretary of the Planning Division assumes the role of Member-Secretary.

The notification identified multiple senior government officials designated to provide technical and administrative assistance to the committee during its operations.

This support group comprises the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, secretaries from the Finance Division, Economic Relations Division, Statistics and Informatics Division, Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division, and Planning Division.

Additional secretaries from relevant government departments will join deliberations as circumstances require.

The committee holds authority to evaluate and authorize all development initiatives including Development Project Proposals, Technical Assistance Project Proposals and revisions to existing projects.

Projects utilizing government resources exceeding 50 crore taka fall under ECNEC jurisdiction, subject to prior assessment by designated appraisal committees.

The body will monitor advancement of active development schemes to guarantee completion schedules are met and public resources deployed efficiently.

ECNEC also retains authority to assess investment proposals originating from private sector organizations, collaborative ventures and state enterprises requiring government clearance or policy backing.

Functioning as the supreme executive authority for development project authorization, ECNEC serves a vital function in executing the government's Annual Development Programme and advancing national economic objectives through integrated planning and regulatory supervision.