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Bangladesh's government debt per person is projected to approach Tk 1.5 lakh by the end of the 2026-27 financial year, according to Finance Division estimates that put the total stock at about Tk 26.33 lakh crore by June 2027. Bangla Tribune reported the projection on Wednesday.

Dividing that stock by an estimated population of 17.5 crore gives roughly Tk 1,50,000 for every person in the country. Using 17.6 crore gives about Tk 1,49,600. The exact figure will depend on final borrowing and the population count used. Officials stress that per-capita debt is an average, not a sum each citizen owes or must pay directly.

The comparison point is recent. On 31 March 2026, per-capita government debt stood at Tk 1,29,239, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament on 6 September, answering a written question from Kushtia-1 MP Reza Ahmed. If the projection holds, that leaves an increase of about Tk 21,000 in 15 months.

The debt stock itself has climbed quickly. At the end of 2024-25, government debt was about Tk 21.44 lakh crore, or 38.61% of gross domestic product, with Tk 11.95 lakh crore borrowed at home and Tk 9.49 lakh crore abroad. The Finance Division's medium-term estimates take the total to Tk 26.33 lakh crore in 2026-27, about 23% higher in two years, then to Tk 29.57 lakh crore in 2027-28 and Tk 33.78 lakh crore in 2028-29. In his budget speech, the finance minister said Bangladesh's debt risk had moved from "low" to "moderate".

External borrowing is the sharper pressure point. Bangladesh Bank data show total external debt reached a record $114.98 billion at the end of June 2026, up $4.05 billion in three months and $1.40 billion in a year. The government's share rose to $95.10 billion from $90.91 billion in March, while private-sector external debt fell by $140 million to $19.88 billion.

New money is arriving more slowly than old money leaves. Economic Relations Division figures show disbursements of $294.5 million in July and August, the first two months of the fiscal year, down about 61% from $750 million a year earlier. New commitments were just $240 million. Repayments of principal and interest came to $698.9 million, about 2.4 times the inflow, leaving a net outflow of roughly $400 million. The ERD has projected record external debt service of about $5.3 billion this fiscal year, and repayment of the Russian loan for the Rooppur nuclear plant is due to begin in March 2027.

The budget is where the burden becomes visible. Interest payments alone are budgeted at about Tk 1,27,000 crore, close to 14% of the Tk 9.38 lakh crore budget, against a revenue target of Tk 6.95 lakh crore and a deficit of Tk 2.43 lakh crore. The government borrowed about Tk 13,000 crore net from banks in July and August, more than five times the same period last year and 11.5% of its Tk 1.12 lakh crore annual target. Outstanding bank borrowing reached Tk 6,08,025 crore by 30 August. Non-performing loans stood at Tk 6,06,555 crore at the end of June, or 32.78% of all loans, up Tk 17,851 crore in three months.

Dr Fahmida Khatun, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said the projection was a reason for concern but not panic. "The per capita figure does not mean every citizen has to pay that amount directly," she told Bangla Tribune. "It is an average, calculated by dividing the government's total debt by the population. But the interest and principal ultimately fall on the budget, and the budget's main source is tax and other revenue." She said the important question is what the borrowed money finances and whether repayment capacity is being built. Spending on productive infrastructure, education, health, energy security and jobs can pay off, she said, while waste, weak project planning and delays limit the benefit and can force cuts elsewhere. Exchange-rate movements also matter, because a weaker taka means more local currency is needed to service the same dollar debt. She called for regular disclosure of borrowing terms, use of funds and project results, and said citizens should demand transparency rather than panic.

Several things remain unknown. The final per-capita figure depends on the debt stock at the end of June 2027, the population estimate used and the exchange rate. The projections assume the present borrowing path continues and that revenue collection improves. If tax receipts fall short, borrowing and interest costs could be higher. Nor is it clear how much of the external pipeline will actually be disbursed, given the slowdown in new commitments and the effect of global energy prices on the budget.

What happens next will be watched in the budget documents rather than the headline number: the annual borrowing plan, the size of the interest line in the next budget, the first Rooppur instalments from March and whether government borrowing from banks crowds out credit to private business. For households, the practical test is whether debt service leaves less room for spending on health, education and the services they use.

Bangladesh has abandoned the Gazipur-Airport Bus Rapid Transit project, its first dedicated BRT line, after 14 years of construction and about Tk 2,810 crore in spending. No dedicated bus ever carried a passenger on it.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Sunday, 18 October, according to a Road Transport and Highways Division letter issued the next day. The letter, signed by Deputy Secretary Taslima Ahmed Poli, says the 20.5 km corridor will be converted into a six-lane road with three lanes in each direction. BRT stations, concrete lane dividers and related works are to be dismantled, and two existing two-lane overpasses may be widened to four lanes.

The cabinet also decided to dissolve Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit PLC, the company created to operate the service, and hand its responsibilities to the Roads and Highways Department. Officials have been asked to submit an initial progress report within 15 days and to update the division by the third day of every month until the decisions are carried out. Before the project is formally closed, the authorities must consult its development partners and settle legal and contractual questions.

The project was approved in November 2012 and was to be finished by December 2016 at a cost of Tk 2,037.9 crore. Repeated revisions pushed the estimate to Tk 4,268.32 crore. The government, the Asian Development Bank and France's Agence Francaise de Developpement financed it. By December 2024, about 97 percent of the infrastructure work was complete and overall physical progress stood at 77.48 percent, but the project expired that month without an extension. The dedicated lanes were later opened to general traffic, and two attempts to procure buses failed.

In July 2025, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council rejected a proposal to raise the cost to Tk 6,598 crore and extend the deadline to December 2029. It ordered an investigation into the project's design and feasibility study instead. The government then weighed four choices: completing the BRT, running route-franchised buses, building a toll expressway or turning the corridor into a conventional highway. The cabinet chose the last option.

A review team from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology had recommended dropping the bus service, citing design flaws and limited capacity, and suggested using the existing infrastructure for general traffic. The panel was led by Professor Samsul Haque, who told Dhaka Tribune that even if buses had run, Gazipur residents could have travelled only as far as the airport before changing again. The panel also called for accountability among the consultants, officials and agencies involved. In October 2025, the interim government had already decided against starting the service, saying it would need more time and money.

The cancellation has drawn criticism. The Bangladesh Institute of Planners called it a "black day" for sustainable and inclusive public transport and demanded that it be withdrawn. The institute said the decision contradicted the Gazipur Transport Master Plan and the Revised Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka, favoured private car users and the construction sector, and ignored the needs of people in Gazipur and Uttara who endured years of disruption. Gazipur Heritage and Development warned that dismantling nearly finished infrastructure would waste public money and add to commuters' suffering.

A Gazipur-based citizens' platform also opposes the move. Its president, Md Shamsul Haque, said the group would protest formally, arguing that most of the construction is already done. Dhaka Tribune reported that the institute has previously estimated that dismantling the works and compensating contractors could cost more than Tk 1,000 crore, although no final figure has been published.

The project, designed for about 25,000 passengers a day, was also marred by deaths at the construction site. The Daily Star put the toll at at least six, including a worker killed when a crane fell in Gazipur in July 2022 and five men killed in Uttara when a girder dropped onto a car. Dhaka Tribune reported seven deaths.

Several questions remain unanswered. The government has not said what the closure will cost, who will pay for removing the stations and dividers, or whether the Asian Development Bank and the French agency have agreed to the change. The timetable for demolition and road widening is also unclear, as is the fate of outstanding contractor claims. Officials have not explained whether the new six-lane road will reserve any space for buses, or whether anyone will be held responsible for the failure.

What happens next will be watched closely in Gazipur, where the highway has been narrowed by construction for more than a decade. The roads department is due to report progress within a fortnight and every month after that, while the government settles terms with lenders and contractors. For commuters, the promised rapid service will remain a project that never carried a passenger.