Project outlays lag behind targets

Although the implementation rate has improved marginally, actual expenditure under Bangladesh’s Annual Development Programme (ADP) declined in monetary terms during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

Data released by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) on 1 April shows that ADP spending during the July–February period amounted to Tk63,327.53 crore, down Tk4,225.68 crore compared with the same period in the previous fiscal year.

IMED officials noted that the last fiscal year had been affected by administrative disruptions following the fall of the Awami League government in 2024. The resulting instability led to the departure of several project directors and contractors, slowing implementation. ADP expenditure during the corresponding period of that year had reached Tk67,553.21 crore.

By comparison, spending in the first eight months of the more stable 2023–24 fiscal year was significantly higher, at Tk85,602.59 crore, indicating a shortfall of Tk22,275 crore in the current fiscal period.

Despite the decline in spending, the ADP’s implementation rate has shown a modest improvement, rising to 30.31 percent in July–February of the current fiscal year from 29.87 percent a year earlier. However, it remains below the 33.65 percent recorded during the same period in 2023–24.

The total size of the revised ADP for the current fiscal year has been set at Tk208,935.53 crore.