The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday cleared 11 projects involving the overall estimated cost of Tk 13,655.98 crore.

The approval came from the Ecnec meeting presided over by Ecnec chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-e Bangla Nagar area.

“Today 11 projects were approved,” said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing reporters after the meeting.

Among these, seven are new projects, while the remaining four are revised ones.

Of the total estimated cost, Tk 10,526.11 crore – 77 percent -- will come from the external sources as foreign loans, while the rest Tk 3,129.87 crore will be drawn from the fund of Government of Bangladesh.

In terms of cost, the largest three fresh projects are ‘Sylhet-Charkhai-Shewla Highway Development’ project with the cost of Tk 4,257.07 crore; ‘Accelerating Transport and Trading Connectivity in Eastern South Asia (ACCESS)-Bangladesh Phase-1 (BLPA Component)’ project with Tk 3,457.15 crore; and ‘Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST)’ project with Tk 2,995.88 crore.

As per project factsheet,  ‘Sylhet-Charkhai-Shewla Highway Development’ project will be implemented in four upazilas – Sylhet Sadar, Dakkhin Surma, Golapganj and Beanibazar-- by December 2027.