Dhaka: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved the establishment of six full‐fledged BTV centers in six divisional cities of the country involving an estimated cost of Tk 1,391 crore, aiming to further strengthen the operations of state‐run television.

The approval came from the ECNEC meeting held at the NEC Conference Room with Ecnec chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said that a total of seven projects were approved on Tuesday involving an estimated cost of Tk 5,238.54 crore.

‘Of the total project cost, Tk 3,455.48 crore will come from the state exchequer, Tk 55.90 crore from the organization’s own fund while the rest of Tk 1,727.16 crore from project assistance,’ he said.

Of the approved seven projects, six are new while another is a revised project.

The Planning Minister said initially there was a proposal for setting up five full‐fledged BTV centers in the divisional cities of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal Division.

Later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the Ministry of Information and the BTV to establish another full‐fledged BTV center in Mymensingh alongside the already proposed BTV centers.