The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved a Tk 206 crore project for constructing four new wholesale kitchen markets in the city's Jatrabari, Aminbazar, Lalbag and Tejgaon.

Presided over by Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman, the Ecnec also okayed nine other development projects worth Tk 1,284 crore, including a Tk 39 crore project for port and other facility construction to maintain the river Buriganga and keep its banks free from grabbing and illegal occupation.

As per the kitchen market project, a total of 2,575 shops will be constructed. Of them, 440 shops will be set up in Jatrabari wholesale kitchen market, while 1107 in Aminbazar, 440 in Lalbag and 588 in Tejgaon.

Presently, there are a total of 1,782 shops in Karwan Bazar and the government will rehabilitate all of them in the four new kitchen markets free of cost. The rest of the shops in the new markets will be distributed as per the City Corporation regulations.

To set up the markets, the government will acquire seven-acre land from the Road and Highway Department in Tejgaon, while 12-acre from Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) in Aminbazar, 5.27-acre khas land in Lalbagh, and 5.27-acre private land in Jatrabari.

The objective of the project is to develop the agricultural products supply and marketing, scale down the gap in prices of kitchen products in the different kitchen markets and introduction of a monitoring system to protect consumers' interest, the City Corporation sources said.

Meanwhile, as per the Buriganga project, the government will construct boundary wall, walkways including banks protection, recreation centre, pontoon, jetty etc.

The shipping ministry informed the Ecnec that the Buriganga banks are being occupied illegally again and again, even after the grabbers are driven away and the lands are recovered and insisted to implement the project immediately.

The other projects approved by the Ecnec include, national eye science institute and hospital project (revised), national cancer research institute and hospital development project (second-revised), Rajshahi city water supply project phase-2 (revised), Iliotgonj-Muradnagor-Ramchandropur-Srikail-Nabipur road development project (second revised), link road construction project between Pabna via Badherhat-Najirgonj and Rajbari, agriculture assistance programme-2: infrastructure development of rural market and link road (phase-3), project of modernisation and strengthening of facilities to supply quality seeds and Badherhat-Khayerchor road construction project near Nagorbari ferry-ghat.