Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has seen the highest allocation for a single project in the revised Annual Development Plan as the interim government wants to make it operational as quickly as possible.

The government approved the Tk 2,16,000 crore revised ADP for FY25 last week, downsized by Tk 49,000 crore from the original one.

The Rooppur power station and related projects have been allocated Tk 11,899 crore, including Tk 9,454 crore for the power plant alone. The allocation for these projects was Tk 10,502 crore in the original ADP.

The total cost of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project is Tk 1,14,225 crore, with the majority financed by Russia. Around Tk 75,000 crore was spent from the total cost as of June last year.

Five other projects related to the electricity line, high frequency telecommunications system, and water supply for the power plant received a combined allocation of Tk 2,424 crore in the revised ADP, up from the original allocation of Tk 2,226 crore.

The total cost of the five projects is Tk 17,471 crore, of which Tk 6,792 crore was spent as of June last year.

These include a Tk 10,981 crore power evacuation line funded under an Indian line of credit (LoC). As of June 2024, about Tk 5,242 crore was spent from the total cost. In the revised ADP, the project received Tk 648 crore against the original Tk 838 crore.

A joint India-Bangladesh review on Wednesday and Thursday found the implementation of the projects under the Indian lines of credit to be slow. However, the Rooppur power evacuation line project has seen fast implementation.

According to the original project proposal, unit-1 of the power plant was supposed to go into operation in December 2022, unit-2 in October 2023 and the entire project was scheduled for completion by December 31, 2025.

The construction of unit-1 formally started in November 2017 and unit-2 in July 2018.

However, implementation has been delayed due to several reasons and now the government is expecting to complete it by December 2027.

Project officials said they were planning to start the test run of the 1,200MW unit-1 by this year and go for commercial production in the first half of next year.

Russia's state corporation for nuclear energy Rosatom is implementing the Rooppur project.

In a meeting with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev in Dhaka towards the end of last month, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus emphasised the timely completion of the project to meet Bangladesh's growing energy needs.

"We are looking forward to your support, which is very important to us," Prof Yunus told the Rrosatom director general, according to a media statement from the Chief Adviser's Office.

Earlier in January, Finance and Science and Technology Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed told The Daily Star that the interim government was committed to completing the Rooppur power plant project. "We have been prioritising the project for its quick implementation," he said.

Rooppur is among the top 15 projects that received a total allocation of Tk 44,822 crore in the revised ADP.

Besides Rooppur, Matarbari coal-fired power plant project has seen a rise in allocation in the revised ADP, from Tk 6,105 crore to Tk 7,050 crore. It is the second highest allocation for a single project in the revised ADP.

The 600MW unit-1 of the Matarbari plant, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), has been commercially operational while the second unit with the same capacity is undergoing test runs.

The total cost of the power plant project is Tk 56,693 crore, of which about Tk 44,000 crore was spent as of June last year.

The allocations for most other projects have been cut as their implementation has been hampered due to political unrest in the country since the start of this fiscal year.

Three more projects currently underway at Matarbari in Maheshkhali for the development of a deep sea port have been allocated a total of Tk 5,139 crore in the revised ADP against the original allocation of Tk 8,758 crore.

Planning ministry officials said the fund cut for the three projects was high because of slow implementation. The total cost of the three projects approved in 2020 is Tk 48,762 crore, of which Tk 1,601 crore has been spent so far.

Three other Jica-funded projects on Dhaka's transport system have received large allocations in the revised ADP. They are MRT-6, MRT-1 and MRT-5 with a combined total cost of Tk 1,28,687 crore.

They have been allocated Tk 4,552 crore in the revised ADP against Tk 6,537 crore allocated in the original one.

MRT-6 has already been operational from Uttara to Motijheel, while the construction of its extension from Motijheel to Kamalapur is underway.

This project has been allocated Tk 1,641 crore in the revised ADP.

The estimated cost for MRT-1 is Tk 53,972 crore, and as of June last year, Tk 2,469 crore has been spent.

In the revised ADP, Tk 2,043 crore has been allocated for the project.

MRT-1 will run from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Kamalapur via Purbachal with parts of the line to be built underground.

MRT-5 northern route, which will connect Hemayetpur of Savar with Bhatara in the capital via Gabtoli, Mirpur, and Gulshan, will be implemented at a total cost of Tk 41,238 crore. So far, Tk 4,063 crore has been spent for the project.

In the revised ADP, MRT-5 has seen a slightly reduced allocation of Tk 868 crore from the original Tk 968 crore.

The allocation for Shahjalal airport's Jica-funded third terminal has remained unchanged at Tk 3,535 crore.

Another Jica-funded project, Jamuna Rail Bridge, has received Tk 2,337 crore in the revised ADP.

Three China-funded projects are also on the list of projects with large allocations in the revised ADP.

Of them, the Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway project saw a slight cut in allocation and received Tk 3,663 crore in the revised ADP.

Its total cost is Tk 17,553 crore, of which Tk 8,691 crore was spent as of June last year.

The two other China-funded projects, which are related to strengthening power lines, received Tk 4,625 crore combinedly in the revised ADP while the original allocation was Tk 7,039 crore.

The combined cost for the two projects is Tk 34,794 crore, of which Tk 15,986 crore was spent until June last year.