Staff Reporter :
The 8th five-year plan, which was being drafted by the ousted Awami League regime, has been suspended by the interim government temporarily, Planning and Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud stated this on Wednesday.
“We are suspending the five-year plan for now. The five-year plan is not needed right now. When an elected government comes to power, they will formulate a new plan,” the adviser said at a press briefing after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus presided over the meeting held at his office in the capital’s Tejgaon.
The Planning Adviser said a government taskforce has been established to explore new directions for the country’s economy and its financing. “They will submit their report within three months,” he said.
However, the government will not wait for the taskforce’s findings to start taking action. “We don’t need to wait for that. We’re already preparing new projects at a rapid pace,” he added.
The adviser noted that while the country has made significant progress in infrastructure development in recent years, it lags in human resource investment, particularly in education and training. “We have to launch some new initiatives quickly in these areas,” he stressed.
The 8th Five Year Plan, which was being devised by the General Economy Department of the planning ministry, was set to come into effect on 25 July 2025 and be implemented till June 2030.
A concept paper titled ‘Eight Five-Year Plan of Bangladesh (July 2025-June 2030): Sustainable and Equitable Growth for Upper Middle Income’ was prepared for the plan.
The concept paper identifies 20 major sectors for development including urbanisation, agriculture, financial sector, poverty reduction and investment growth, and development of education and health sectors.