News Flash
DHAKA, June 28, 2026 (BSS) - State Minister for Planning Md Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki today stressed that strengthening revenue collection and modernizing public institutions are essential to sustaining Bangladesh's development, as he launched the Taka 3,287 crore Strengthening Institutions for Transparency and Accountability (CITA) project.
Speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, the State Minister said that the five-year project would
help automate public services, improve coordination among government agencies through data-driven systems, and ensure development projects are completed on time and within budget.
The initiative would support major reforms, including automation of the National Board of Revenue's tax administration, modernization of national
accounting and auditing systems, improvement of inflation and GDP measurement, strengthening project planning and monitoring, and upgrading the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, he said.
Highlighting the country's fiscal challenges, Zonayed Saki noted that Bangladesh's budget-to-GDP ratio currently stands at only 13 percent, making stronger domestic resource mobilization imperative.
"If five percent of GDP is allocated to health and another five percent to education, how will the remaining three percent finance all other development activities?" he said, emphasizing the need for comprehensive revenue reforms.
Saki said the CITA project would strengthen public financial management, enhance transparency and accountability, and improve the quality of public
service delivery, thereby contributing to faster and more inclusive economic growth.
The project, to be implemented between 2025 and 2030, has a total cost of Taka 3,287 crore, including Taka 3,043 crore from the World Bank's
International Development Association (IDA) and Taka 244 crore from the Government of Bangladesh.
The project will be jointly implemented by the Planning Division, the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), the Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics (BBS), the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG).
Among other speakers, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan said the project aims to increase the country's tax-to-GDP ratio from below seven percent to around 15 percent through integrated automated systems.
BPPA Chief Executive Officer S. M. Moin Uddin Ahmed said a cloud-ready e-GP Version 2 would be developed by 2030, while Comptroller and Auditor General Md. Nurul Islam said automated accounting and auditing systems would modernize financial oversight.
World Bank (WB) Division Director for Bangladesh Jean Pesme described the project as crucial for improving transparency and addressing institutional weaknesses.
WB official Sebastian Eckardt noted that around 1.6 million young people enter the labour market annually, underscoring the importance of efficient publicservices and job creation.
The ceremony was chaired by Planning Division Secretary SM Shakil Akhtar and attended by senior government officials and development partners.
