Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed hope that Bangladesh will set a new record in export revenue in the current fiscal year. She said the export revenue in the last fiscal year was 44.22 billion dollars. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the export revenue has increased by about 33% as compared to the same period of the last fiscal year and reached 38.61 billion dollars. If this trend continues, Bangladesh will set a new record in export revenue this fiscal year.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing the nation on the occasion of Bengali New Year 1429 on Thursday (14 April).
The Prime Minister said that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, our GDP growth in the fiscal year 2020-21 has been 6.94%. In the last fiscal year, a record 24.77 billion dollars of remittances came to the country. This year, too, remittances are coming as expected.
She said that the solid foundation on which Bangladesh’s economy has stood in the last 13 years is evident when one considers the combined indicators of the economy. In 2009, the GDP was only 102 billion dollars. In 2021, it has increased to 416 billion dollars. Per capita income has risen from 702 dollars to 2,591 dollars.
She further said that these achievements have been made possible due to far-reaching political thinking and the adoption and implementation of far-sighted economic programs. Today, Bangladesh has emerged as a role model of development as a result of running the country through people’s participation while upholding the democratic trend.
The Prime Minister also said that confusion is being spread about the mega projects of the government. ‘Many people are spreading confusion about our mega projects,’ she said. ‘The Padma Bridge is being built with its funds, no loan has been taken. We have taken up other mega projects with the help of economic studies by local and foreign experts. And not just loans, many projects are being implemented based on foreign partnerships. If these projects are implemented, the face of our economy will change.’
‘We are taking domestic and foreign loans,’ she said. ‘However, we have a careful vision so that it does not become a burden. Our main goal is to accelerate economic activities, create employment, increase wealth and make people’s lives easier through infrastructure development. 2022 and 2023 will be milestone years for Bangladesh in terms of infrastructure development. And the much-awaited Padma Bridge is going to be launched in a few months. The bridge is expected to contribute 1.2% to GDP.’
Mentioning that the implementation of ongoing mega projects is progressing fast, the Prime Minister said that by the end of this year, Metrorail will be launched in a 14 km section from Uttara to Agargaon. It is hoped that Metrorail will bring a revolutionary change in the transport system of the capital Dhaka. The country’s first tunnel through the bottom of Karnaphuli River will be opened in Chattogram next October. The first unit of the Rooppur nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1,200 MW, the largest development project in the history of the country at a cost of Tk 1 lac and 13 thousand crores, is expected to be commissioned by the end of next year. Last month, a state-of-the-art 1,320 MW power plant was inaugurated at Payra ahead of schedule. The implementation of other mega projects is progressing fast.
The Prime Minister said that every effort is being made to bring relief to the lives of the common people, adding that there was instability in the world market due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the situation arising out of this war. Fuel oil prices have risen at an unusual rate. International cargo transport rates have also risen sharply. As a result, the prices of some products have also increased in our country, but we are not sitting quietly. We are trying our best to bring peace to the lives of ordinary people.
The Prime Minister said that during the current holy month of Ramadan, we have taken steps to provide some essential commodities at affordable prices to about 1 crore families through subsidy through TCB. Arrangements have been made to sell meat, eggs, and milk at affordable prices in 15 freezer vans every day through the Livestock Department in Dhaka. As a result, the prices of many necessities have normalised. Besides, the government has given a special allocation of more than 1 lac 330 tonnes of rice for 1 crore 33 thousand and 54 VGF cards on the occasion of the upcoming Eid.
