Latest news with #ExecutiveCommitteeoftheNationalEconomicCouncil
Mint
24-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus not stepping down amid growing unease: ‘Overcoming obstacles'
Muhammad Yunus, who had expressed his desire to resign as chief adviser, will not step down and remain as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, an adviser in his cabinet said on Saturday. Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud said that Muhammad Yunus only emphasised that the interim givernment was 'overcoming obstacles'. "He [Muhammad Yunus] didn't say he will leave. He said that while we face many obstacles in carrying out the work and responsibilities assigned to us, we are overcoming them,' he told reporters after an unscheduled meeting of the advisory council. 'He [Yunus] is definitely staying.' Meanwhile, Muhammad Yunus has convened an unexpected meeting of the advisory council on Saturday. The move followed Yunus's announcement expressing his intention to resign as chief adviser, citing challenges in navigating the political deadlock and the inability of parties to reach a consensus on reforms. 'He is likely to sit with the Advisers (effectively ministers) shortly after the ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) meeting,' which is underway as scheduled, a news agency reported. According to the reports, Muhammad Yunus is likely to meet the advisers along with former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami later on Saturday. According to the chief adviser's press wing, a BNP delegation would meet the chief advisers at 7:00 pm while Jamaat leaders would meet him at 8:00 pm. 'We have been invited by the Chief Adviser's Office to hold a meeting over the latest political situation,' a BNP spokesman told the media earlier. Just a few days ago, Muhammad Yunus said that he was mulling stepping down as he felt 'the situation is such that he cannot work". Earlier on the same day, Muhamad Yunus had also told his Cabinet that he wanted to step down. NCP convenor Nahid Islam said he urged Yunus "to stay strong for the sake of the country's security and future and to meet the expectations of the mass uprising' (and) I hope everyone will cooperate with him'. Advisers of Yunus' cabinet also persuaded him to not relinquish the post. Meanwhile, special adviser to Muhammad Yunus affirmed that he would not step down. 'For the sake of Bangladesh and a peaceful democratic transition, Professor Yunus needs to remain in office,' Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb said in a Facebook post, adding, 'The Chief Adviser is not going to step down. He does not hanker after power.' He later deleted the post.
Express Tribune
21-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Wastewater treatment project approved to boost sustainability
A project approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), under the federal Planning and Development Department, for the construction of the Eastern Wastewater Treatment Plant (33 MGD) – Phase I in Faisalabad is expected to have long-term positive impacts on the environment and groundwater sustainability. Officials say the project, to be established at Chak 244-RB in Faisalabad, includes the construction of a wastewater treatment facility, rehabilitation of a Katcha channel, laying of a trunk sewer from the terminal point of Channel 4 to the plant covering 2.6 kilometres, and the development of a 10.5-kilometre force main to discharge treated water into the Gogera Branch Canal. With a total estimated cost of Rs53.66 billion, the project is included in the Annual Development Programme 202425 and is being funded through a loan by the Danish government's Danida Sustainable Infrastructure Finance (DSIF). According to WASA Faisalabad Deputy Managing Director Saqib Raza, the Project Management Unit (PMU) was established in March 2022, and 90 acres of state land were transferred to the Housing and Urban Development Department for the project. The selection process for a consultant began in February 2022 and was concluded in March 2022 with the appointment of NIRAS, Denmark, as the official project consultant. WASA Managing Director Amir Aziz said a pre-qualification notice was issued in October 2022, and the process was finalized in December 2022 with two firms being pre-qualified. Tender documents were issued in February 2023, technical bids opened in July 2023, and financial bids were reviewed in November 2023. However, the submitted financial bids were higher than the approved loan ceiling, prompting WASA to negotiate a revised scope with the bidder. The revised plan involved reducing the treatment plant's capacity from 200,000 to 150,000 million gallons per day and shortening the operation and maintenance period from five years to three. WASA submitted a revised PC-1 in July 2024 through the Housing Department to the Planning and Development Board in Lahore. Following rigorous scrutiny, the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) cleared the project on October 2, 2024, and formally approved the revised PC-1 on January 27, 2025. After months of technical planning and negotiation, the final approval by ECNEC has paved the way for launching the project. The loan agreement with the Danish government is expected to be signed next week, operationalising a major environmental upgrade, an official said.
