State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki on Saturday said that the government of Bangladesh has included 1,270 new projects in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year budget.

He said this while addressing a seminar titled ‘Budget 2026-27 in Times of Crisis’ organised at CIRDAP, in Dhaka.

He said unlike in the past, projects this time have been planned in a coordinated manner. “Previously, projects were taken in isolation, power plants were built without transmission lines, hospitals without equipment. This time, every project will be implemented in a coordinated way so ordinary people can actually benefit.”

Saki said public investment transparency is a prerequisite for expanding private investment. “Without accountability in public spending, from budgeting to taxation, private investment cannot flourish.”

Criticising past five-year plans, the state minister said those plans lacked any roadmap for implementation. Going forward, the government will design its five-year plan with implementation challenges factored in from the outset, aiming to show tangible results within four and a half years.
He warned that financial waste from poor implementation costs the country more than corruption itself, and said the government is working to minimise project-wise fund wastage, reports UNB.

Defending recent hikes in electricity and fuel prices, he said the current government is being transparent about the reasons, something the public was never told before. “There may be criticism, but we have ensured transparency.”