The Annual Development Programme (ADP), Bangladesh's main mechanism for financing public development projects, has expanded dramatically over the past decade, funding major infrastructure, energy, transport, health and education initiatives across the country.
For the upcoming fiscal year, the BNP-led government has proposed a Tk 3 lakh crore development budget, marking another significant increase in public spending. However, economists and policy analysts say rising allocations alone are not enough, as persistent weaknesses in implementation continue to affect the quality and effectiveness of development projects.
Over the last 10 years, the ADP has grown from less than Tk 1 lakh crore in FY2015-16 to more than Tk 2.5 lakh crore in recent years. The expansion was largely driven by mega projects including the Padma Bridge, Dhaka Metro Rail, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and Matarbari Power Project.
Despite this growth, implementation efficiency has failed to improve proportionately. Analysts say actual spending rates often remain below expectations due to administrative delays, land acquisition problems, procurement complications and slow release of funds.
According to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), post-Covid economic pressures, foreign exchange shortages, import restrictions and political uncertainty further slowed project implementation in recent years. Projects dependent on foreign financing were particularly affected by dollar shortages and delays in opening Letters of Credit (LCs).
Implementation rates also dropped sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic in FY2019-20, when lockdowns and labour shortages pushed ADP execution down to around 76 percent. Although the situation improved somewhat afterwards, recent IMED reports showed implementation rates during FY2023-24 and FY2024-25 remained among the lowest in a decade during the first several months of the fiscal year.
Economists have also expressed concern over the long-standing "June Closing Syndrome" - a rush by ministries and agencies to spend large portions of the budget at the end of the fiscal year to improve implementation statistics.
Prof Dr Mustafizur Rahman, former Executive Director of CPD, told the Daily Observer that ministries often show little interest in ADP execution at the beginning of the fiscal year but spend rapidly toward the end, affecting project quality.
Former World Bank Dhaka office chief economist Dr Zahid Hossain said development planning must match implementation capacity.
"Development does not happen by taking an excessively large ADP," he said, stressing the need to prioritise major projects and maintain quality standards.
Despite the challenges, the ADP has played a major role in Bangladesh's infrastructure transformation, particularly in power generation, transport connectivity and urban communication systems.
Experts say the key challenge now is not merely having a larger ADP, but ensuring a more effective one through better planning, transparency, timely fund release and efficient project management.
