The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will cancel or repurpose about $408 million from projects in Bangladesh this year due to prolonged implementation delays, the lender said at a review meeting in Dhaka.

The decision comes after the Manila-based institution identified several schemes that have remained stalled or slow-moving. Of the total, $135 million has already been cancelled because of unused balances at project closing, driven by procurement savings and currency fluctuations.

A further $166 million is expected to be cancelled by December, while $107 million will be redirected to other programmes.

“Some projects have faced significant delays in implementation,” the ADB noted in its review. It added that the cancellations would free up lending capacity under its exposure limits and allow support for government priorities.

The announcement highlights persistent weaknesses in Bangladesh’s public investment performance. In fiscal year 2024-25, development expenditure reached only 68% of the revised annual development programme, the lowest in nearly five decades.

Implementation during the first two months of FY2026 was just 2.39%, the weakest in 16 years. Earlier this year, the World Bank also redirected $670 million from 11 ongoing projects.

A senior Economic Relations Division official acknowledged that many of the affected projects had remained inactive for extended periods. “With the cancellation and repurposing, this fund can be diverted to other priority projects, relieving Bangladesh from paying project commitment charges,” the official said.

The ADB said the move would strengthen portfolio management and improve the quality of public spending.