The implementation rate of Annual Development Programme (ADP) hit a three-year low to 8.0 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal year, 2018-19.
The project implementation rate was two percentage points lower than the same period of FY'18 and 0.50 percentage points down from that of FY'17.
The state-run Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Planning Commission said the project implementing agencies spent Tk 149.27 billion funds, which accounts for 8.25 per cent of the total Tk 1.80 trillion worth of ADP.
According to the IMED, the implementing agencies' performance was the worst in spending funds from the internal resources while the autonomous and semi-autonomous public institutions showed better performance in July-September period of the current fiscal.
The agencies spent 7.47 per cent of the total outlay from the internal resources, while some 8.65 per cent fund from the project assistance (external resources).
However, the public sector autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies spent 16.55 per cent of their funds in July-September period of the current fiscal.
The government allocated Tk 1.13 trillion from the internal resources in the Tk 1.80 trillion ADP, Tk 600 billion funds from the external resources as the project aid while Tk 78.69 billion from the funds of the autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies.
The commission officials said that the agencies had failed to improve their project execution capacity, as the implementation rate was lower than the same period of the last two consecutive fiscals.
The officials said the worst-performing agencies include the water resources ministry, railway ministry, bridges division, and primary and mass education ministry.
The railway ministry spent only 2.0 per cent of its total allocations in the ADP, while the bridges division did 4.61 per cent, the primary and mass education ministry 3.0 per cent, and the water resources ministry 0.58 per cent during July-September of the current fiscal.
Meanwhile, the best-performing was power division, which spent 16.91 per cent of its total outlay, followed by 13.41 per cent by the local government division.
Bangladesh's ADP outlay has been growing every year because the government needs to develop infrastructure and reduce poverty.
