The transport and communication sector has again received the highest allocation in the development component of the proposed national budget for the 2024鈥�2025 financial year for the 12th consecutive year in a row.
However, apart from the road, railways, waterways and aviation sub-sectors, the transport and communication sector in the budget also includes the post and telecommunication.
For the new financial year, the proportion allocated for the sector is 25 per cent of the budget which was 27.3 per cent in the outgoing FY23鈥�24.
Transport sector experts, however, observed that the continuous highest share for the sector in the budget failed to effect expected improvement in services due to a lack of strategic plans based on waterways and railways.
Meanwhile, the share of the sector has been decreased in the proposed budget.
In the sector-wise resource distribution, including subsidies, incentives and pension, the sector鈥檚 share is 10.4 per cent in the operating and development budget for the coming year.
The share was 11.5 per cent in the outgoing FY23鈥�24 and 12 per cent in the FY22鈥�23.
The overall allocation for the sector in the proposed budget has decreased to Tk 82,918 crore from Tk 87,629 crore in the outgoing FY.
Finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on Thursday placed the proposed national budget in the parliament for FY2024鈥�25 at an estimated 7,97,000 crore.
Md Shamsul Hoque, a Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology professor and transportation engineering expert, alleged that the development of the sector is road centric which could not ease traffic gridlock and fatal road crashes.
鈥榃ithout concentrating on the waterways and railways the developments will not be sustainable and safe,鈥� he said and added that it was unfortunate that the proposed budget allotted the lowest allocation to the shipping ministry.
A breakdown of the proposed allocation in the sector for FY24鈥�25shows that Tk 38,143 crore has been proposed for the Road Transport and Highways Division under the road transport and bridges ministry. The allocation was Tk 39,710 crore in the outgoing FY23鈥�24.
The FY24鈥�25 budget proposes Tk 18,072 crore for the railways ministry, down from Tk 19,010 crore in the outgoing FY23鈥�24.
The FY24鈥�25 budget proposes Tk 11,270 crore for the shipping ministry, somewhat up from the allocation at Tk 10,801 crore in the FY23鈥�24.
In the FY24鈥�25, Tk 7,318 crore has been proposed for the Bridges Division, down from the allocation of Tk 9,073 crore in the FY23鈥�24.
The civil aviation and tourism ministry gets Tk 5,695 crore in the proposed budget, against Tk 6,596 crore allocated in the outgoing FY23鈥�24.
For the Posts and Telecommunications Division under the post, telecommunications and information technology ministry, the allocation proposed in the FY24鈥�25 budget is Tk 2,420 crore, very slightly down from the allocation of Tk 2,439 crore in the outgoing FY23鈥�24.
The finance minister in his budget speech said that in the past 15 years 947.99 kilometres of railway lines were constructed, 340km of meter-gauge track were converted into dual gauge, 1,391km of tracks were rehabilitated or reconstructed and 1,062 railway bridges were constructed.
In the past 15 years, 26 river ports were established in inland waterways to reduce the pressure on roads and railways, he added.
