White paper to focus on mega projects, not all dev projects: Debapriya

The committee formed for the preparation of a white paper on the state of Bangladesh economy will discuss the country's mega projects instead of all development projects.

The 12-member panel will also shed light on additional projects, which it may feel necessary at the time of discussing mega projects, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, leader of the panel.

If necessary, it will also advise on the annual development programme, he said.

"This committee will work to determine the basis of the current state of the economy. We will try to identify where the interim government stands now. It will help them to enlighten the reform tasks," said Bhattacharya, who is also a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

"Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday," he said at a press briefing after the first meeting of the committee at the Planning Commission in Dhaka's Agargaon.

The government formed the panel on Wednesday to prepare the white paper so that strategic steps can be taken to stabilise the economy, reach the country's sustainable development goals, and mitigate challenges after Bangladesh graduates from the group of least developed countries.

The committee members include Professor AK Enamul Haque, dean of the faculty of business and economics at East West University; Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO of Business Initiative Leading Development; Imran Matin, executive director of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development at BRAC University; Dr Kazi Iqbal, senior research fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, and Dr M Tamim, a professor at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

The other members are Dr Mohammad Abu Eusuf, professor of the department of development studies at the University of Dhaka; Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of the CPD, Dr Selim Raihan, professor of the department of economics at Dhaka University; Dr Sharmind Neelormi, professor of the department of economics at Jahangirnagar University; Dr Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui, founding chair of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, and Zahid Hussain, former lead economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office.