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The current government is struggling to shoulder the massive burden of unplanned borrowing and 1,300 projects undertaken during the previous 15 years, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told Parliament on Sunday.
He said the government is reviewing projects initiated by the previous administration and cancelling many of them based on the findings of those assessments.
The minister made the remarks while responding to a supplementary question from reserved women’s seat MP Rehana Akter Ranu during Sunday’s parliamentary session, chaired by Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal.
In her question, Ranu said 78% of the country’s current debt had been incurred during the previous government’s 15-year tenure. Between 2009 and 2024, she said, more than Tk15.5 lakh crore was borrowed from domestic and foreign sources, alleging that the money was siphoned off abroad through corruption and misappropriation.
She asked whether investigations had been conducted into alleged irregularities and corruption in projects financed through those loans.
In response, the finance minister said the huge debt accumulated in the past was now placing a significant burden on the current government.
“The massive borrowing accumulated within such a short period has put enormous pressure on the economy. The government is going through an extremely difficult period in meeting the repayment obligations,” he said.
Criticising the previous government’s approach to public investment, Amir Khosru said four key considerations should guide investment decisions: value for money, return on investment, job creation and environmental considerations.
“Unfortunately, the previous government did not follow most of these principles in the majority of its projects,” he said.
Highlighting the current economic challenges, the minister said the country was dealing with the fallout from alleged looting in the banking and stock market sectors, alongside the impact of conflicts in the Middle East.
“Taken together, we are going through a difficult period. However, we remain optimistic. Whenever a BNP government has faced such a crisis, it has managed to rescue the country,” he said.
He said the government was moving forward with its vision under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Regarding scrutiny of the inherited projects, the minister said the government had been left with around 1,300 projects requiring evaluation.
“Each of these projects is being evaluated separately. Many of the assessments are nearing completion, and based on these evaluations, we are dropping a number of projects,” he said.
However, he added that some projects were already at an advanced stage and would have to be completed rather than abandoned.
“The investments we make in the future will deliver returns for the people of Bangladesh,” Amir Khosru said.