|| Special Correspondent: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) yesterday approved five development projects with an estimated total cost of Tk 483.43 crore. Of the total project cost, Tk 390.84 crore will be financed from the government exchequer while Tk 92.59 crore will be sourced through project loans or grants. The approval came at the 9th ECNEC meeting of the 2025-26 fiscal year and the first meeting of the current government, held at the Cabinet Division conference room in the city. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman presided over the meeting. The five projects approved yesterday are as follows: The General Social Infrastructure Development Project-2 (GSIDP-2), managed by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), has had its budget increased to Tk 1,450 crore and is scheduled for completion in June 2027. In contrast, the Char Development and Settlement Project-4 (CDSP-4) saw a reduction in its total cost, which now stands at Tk 30.7186 crore. The IT Training and Incubation Center project received a cost increase of Tk 228.4454 crore which now stands at Tk 533.5492 crore and will now continue through June 2026. Funding for the Modernization of Diagnostic Imaging Facilities across eight divisional medical college hospitals has risen to Tk 1,213.7050 crore, with the project timeline extended to June 2028.Finally, the Establishment of Gopalganj Dental College and Hospital (2nd Revision) was granted a cost increase of Tk 26.49 crore, bringing its total budget to Tk 139.3093 crore with a target completion date of June 2026.