Bangladesh has approved a major development package worth Tk 16,207.55 crore, with a 442MW peak solar power plant at Rampal among the key projects cleared by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The approvals came at an ECNEC meeting chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat on Wednesday. The package includes 13 projects—10 new schemes, two revised projects and one involving an extension of the implementation period.

The government will finance Tk 10,600.80 crore from its own resources, while Tk 4,081.85 crore will come through project loans and Tk 1,524.91 crore from the implementing organisations’ own funds.

The Rampal solar power project, under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, is expected to add 442MW of renewable generation capacity. The project has been approved at an estimated cost of Tk 2,498.07 crore, with implementation scheduled from September 2026 to March 2029.

The solar project is part of the government’s broader effort to expand renewable energy and diversify the country’s power-generation mix. The plant is planned for the Rampal power complex in Bagerhat, using land that had previously been acquired for the coal-fired power project.

The ECNEC also approved several urban and rural infrastructure projects. Seven of the approved schemes fall under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, including road and drainage improvements in newly incorporated areas of Dhaka South City Corporation, infrastructure development in Rangpur City Corporation and road, drain and footpath construction in Gazipur.

Among the other major approvals is a rural infrastructure development project covering Sirajganj, Bogura and Naogaon. The committee also approved the second phase of the Important Urban Infrastructure Development Project under its second revision.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) also received approval for a third revision of a project involving the procurement of 35 commercial vessels and eight auxiliary vessels, along with construction of two new slipways.

Bangladesh Railway will receive support for expanding its operational capacity through the procurement of 30 metre-gauge diesel-electric locomotives.

The ECNEC further approved a project to renovate and modernise Bangladesh’s purchased chancery building in Paris, as well as two road transport projects, including construction of the Second Karatoya Bridge in Panchagarh and a revised road project in the Bandarban area.

The latest approvals underline the government’s focus on combining renewable-energy expansion with transport, urban infrastructure, waterways and public-sector capacity-building projects.