SHAMIMA RITA
The government has proposed lower allocations for roads, railways and shipping in FY2026-27 compared with the previous fiscal year. However, experts say the focus should be less on the size of the budget and more on the government’s ability to implement it.
A total of Tk 55,939 crore has been proposed for the Road Transport and Highways Division, the Ministry of Railways, and the Ministry of Shipping in FY2026-27.
The amount is Tk 4,780 crore, or 7.87 percent, lower than their combined allocation of Tk 60,719 crore for FY2025-26.
However, it is Tk 14,272 crore higher than the revised allocation of Tk 41,667 crore for the outgoing fiscal year.
Prof Md Hadiuzzaman of Civil Engineering at Buet said the lower allocation should not be judged solely by its size.
“The size of the budget is not the main issue. What matters most is whether we can implement it,” he told The Daily Star.
He said past experience shows that large allocations often fail to translate into timely implementation. “Even when large budgets are prepared, implementation remains slow. Instead of preparing a big budget, the key question is whether we have the capacity to implement the allocation and generate real economic benefits and jobs.”
The Road Transport and Highways Division received the largest allocation among the three. The government has proposed Tk 36,917 crore for the division in FY2026-27, down from Tk 38,496 crore in the original FY2025-26 budget.
Of the amount, Tk 30,741 crore has been earmarked for development expenditure and Tk 6,176 crore for operating expenditure.
The railways ministry has been allocated Tk 9,941 crore, including Tk 5,440 crore for development expenditure and Tk 4,501 crore for operating expenditure, down from Tk 11,944 crore in the original FY2025-26 budget.
Budget documents also show low spending in several major transport projects.
In the outgoing fiscal year, Tk 10,122.08 crore was allocated under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for two metro rail projects.
Of this amount, Tk 8,631.43 crore was allocated for MRT Line-1, which is being implemented with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. However, actual expenditure stood at around Tk 801 crore.
Similarly, Tk 1,490.65 crore was allocated for MRT Line-5: Northern Route, while expenditure stood at around Tk 683 crore.
Experts noted that the low utilisation of funds indicates that large allocations for major transport projects could not be fully spent, which may have influenced the government’s more cautious approach to development spending in the next fiscal year.
Hadiuzzaman said poor ADP implementation remains a major concern.
“If a large allocation is made without building institutional capacity, it creates room for waste. Often, towards the end of the fiscal year, there is a tendency to show hurried progress simply to spend the money. That is not healthy,” he said.
He said one positive aspect of the proposed budget is its emphasis on completing ongoing projects in the road and railway sectors instead of taking on too many new ones.
“If we look at metro rail, the budget focuses on completing ongoing projects such as MRT Line-1 and MRT Line-5: Northern Route. In the railway sector, the emphasis appears to be on dual-gauge conversion rather than fresh expansion,” he said.
He added that the budget also includes plans to increase the capacity of Saidpur and Pahartali railway workshops, including initiatives to assemble engines and coaches.
“What I wanted to see was a focus on completing ongoing projects quickly and making them useful for the economy. Some projects have been completed, but their full benefits have not yet been realised,” he said.
The Ministry of Shipping has been allocated Tk 9,081 crore, including Tk 8,207 crore for development expenditure and Tk 874 crore for operating expenditure, down from Tk 10,279 crore in the original FY2025-26 budget.
The figures show that most of the reduction from the original FY2025-26 allocation has come from development spending rather than regular operating expenses.