Dhaka: The government on Tuesday approved the Delta Plan 2100 aiming to harness the huge potentials of Bangladesh as a Delta country through water resource management, ensuring food and water security and tackling disasters.

The plan is expected to boost the country’s GDP growth by another 1.5 percent by 2030.

The approval came at a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held today (Tuesday) at the NEC conference room here with NEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal briefed reporters after the meeting.

The short-term measures of the Plan will be implemented by 2030, while the mid-term ones by 2050 and the long-term ones by 2100.

The government will need $37 billion by 2030 for implementing the plan.

Mustafa Kamal said the country could boost its GDP growth by another 1.5 percent by 2030 through implementing the plan.

He called today as the ‘Red Letter Day’ for Bangladesh as well as his ministry since the nearly 100-year plan was approved for the first timein the country.

The minister mentioned that the Netherlands have been greatly benefitted through adopting such a plan as the country has been able to reclaim around 6,000 square kilometres of land in addition to its mainland.

Encouraged by the experiences of the Netherlands, Kamal said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier directed the authorities concerned to work out such a plan to tap the maximum potentials of Bangladesh as a deltaic region.

He also said the work is underway to formulate another perspective plan for the year 2021-2041 to transform the nation into a developed one.

State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan, GED member of the Planning Commission Prof Dr Shamsul Alam and Secretaries Concerned were present at the briefing.