Executive Committee of the National Economic Council
Profile
- Head
- Tarique Rahman
- Role
- Prime Minister / ECNEC Chairperson
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1972
- Legal basis
- Cabinet Division Resolution 1982, which codified ECNEC's composition and functions; reconstituted periodically by Cabinet Division gazette notification (most recently 24 February 2026, Bangladesh Gazette). The parent body, the National Economic Council (NEC), was established under the Bangladesh (Adaptation of Existing Laws) Order 1972.
Actively approving large infrastructure DPPs at a pace not seen in recent years: Tk 36,695.72 crore approved in a single meeting (May 13) headlined by the Tk 34,497.25 crore Padma Barrage mega-project; total FY2026-27 ADP of Tk 3,00,000 crore awaiting NEC sign-off on May 18, 2026.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-24 appointment Cabinet Division gazette reconstituted ECNEC with PM Tarique Rahman as Chairperson and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir (Local Government Minister) as Alternate Chairperson; core members include Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, Commerce/Industries/Textiles/Jute Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam; any minister whose ministry's project appears on the agenda is a member for that session. ↗↗↗
- 2026-04-26 budget ECNEC 10th meeting of FY2025-26 (2nd under current government) approved 14 development projects worth Tk 13,445.41 crore; approvals included the Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Railway Tracks in the Western Zone of Bangladesh Railway (1st Phase) at Tk 2,028.59 crore (5-year, self-financed; covers 1,930.88 route-km across Joydebpur-Ibrahimabad, Ishwardi-Saidpur, Santahar-Joypurhat, and other corridors) and a broad-gauge railway from Madhukhali to Magura via Kamarkhali (1st revision); PM Tarique Rahman presided. ↗↗↗↗
- 2026-05-13 budget ECNEC approved 9 projects totalling Tk 36,695.72 crore; the centrepiece was the Padma Barrage (1st Phase) at Tk 34,497.25 crore -- a 2.1 km barrage at Pangsha, Rajbari, including 78 spillways, 18 undersluices, 2 fish passes, navigation locks, and a 743-crore hydropower plant; implementation July 2026 to June 2033 by BWDB under Ministry of Water Resources; fully government-financed; projected GDP contribution 0.45% with Tk 8,000 crore direct annual return; benefits roughly 7 crore people across 5 river systems; PM Tarique Rahman presided at Cabinet Division conference room. ↗↗↗↗↗
- 2026-05-17 budget NEC (parent body) scheduled for May 18, 2026, to consider the proposed FY2026-27 Annual Development Programme of Tk 3,00,000 crore (1,121 projects); domestic financing Tk 1,90,000 crore, external Tk 1,10,000 crore; 50% increase over FY26 RADP of Tk 2,00,000 crore; Planning Commission prepared the proposal under PM Tarique Rahman's direction; NEC approval pending as of last_updated date. ↗↗↗
Provenance & notes
ECNEC is a cabinet committee, not a parliamentary committee in the Westminster sense, but the schema's 'parliamentary_committee' type is the closest available. Legal basis: the parent NEC was established under the Bangladesh (Adaptation of Existing Laws) Order 1972; ECNEC's specific composition and functions were codified by Cabinet Division Resolution 1982 and are updated by gazette notification with each change of government. Current reconstitution gazette: 24 February 2026. Chairperson is always the Prime Minister. Alternate Chairperson in current constitution is Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir (Local Government Minister). Website https://plancomm.gov.bd is the Bangladesh Planning Commission site, which serves as ECNEC's secretariat and public information portal. IMPORTANT date correction: the western-zone railway track rehabilitation (Tk 2,028.59 crore) was approved at the April 26, 2026 ECNEC meeting, not May 12 as initially referenced in the task brief; cross-verified against BSS, Dhaka Tribune, and Outlook Bangla reports. The Tk 3,00,000 crore FY2026-27 ADP is a Planning Commission proposal awaiting NEC (not ECNEC) approval; NEC meeting scheduled 18 May 2026, so this item is recorded as pending.
Sources
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/National_Economic_Council
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Committee_of_the_National_Economic_Council
- https://plancomm.gov.bd/
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/363642
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/tarique-head-newly-formed-ecnec-executive-committee-fakhrul-alternate-chairman-1370436
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/292159/prime-minister-tarique-rahman-to-head-ecnec-as-govt-reconstitutes-top-project-approval-body
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/381573
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/408706/ecnec-approves-14-projects-worth-tk-13-445-crore
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/govt-undertakes-tk2028cr-railway-rehabilitation-project-modernise-western-zone-rail?amp=
- https://www.bssnews.net/special-stories/386599
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/386672
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/ecnec-okays-padma-barrage-mega-project-4175341
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/ecnec-approves-tk-34497cr-padma-barrage-project-4174951
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/development/410123/govt-undertakes-tk-34-497.25cr-padma-barrage
- https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/b59e2f328557
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/387845
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/budget/budget-2026-27-govt-plans-tk3-lakh-crore-adp-1410051
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/fy27-adp-higher-allocations-proposed-health-and-education-1418001
- https://tob.news/govt-reconstitutes-ecnec-ccea-and-purchase-committee/