Int’l standard vaccine institute to be set up in country, PM tells JS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) that the government aims to set up an international standard vaccine institute to tackle different viruses, including Covid-19, alongside formulating a vaccine guideline. 

“The present government has a plan to set up an international standard vaccine institute to produce vaccines and formulate a vaccine guideline aiming to tackle different viruses such as coronavirus,” she said.

The premier revealed it while replying to a tabled question from Awami League Lawmaker Anwar Hossain Khan of Laxmipur-1 constituency.

Highlighting the benefits of the vaccine institute, she said once the institute is established in the country, it will ensure vaccine production, training on related research and technical assistance as well as enhance the capacity of local vaccine producing firms.

Moreover, the management of vaccine production, application and standards will be further time-befitting, she opined. 

Sheikh Hasina said the institute will also ease the production of newly developed vaccines in the country upon the technology transfer, which will ensure the availability of vaccines at cheaper rates in the country.

She further said the establishment of the institute will also pave the way for attaining WHO-prequalification for the new vaccine that might help in expanding foreign market of the vaccines produced in Bangladesh.

Highways Development:

Answering another question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Syed Abu Hossain from Dhaka-4 constituency, the Prime Minister said a total of 9330km highways were expanded, including renovating 7320km highways, in the country from 2009 to June 2021.

In this period, some 357 development projects were implemented under the Roads and Highways Department, she added.

She informed the House that a total of 632km national highways were upgraded to four-lane ones from 2009 to June 2021, while the service lanes were constructed on both the sides of 1053km national highways across the country.

Dredging Master Plan:

The Prime Minister said her government has made 10,000km of waterways navigable through dredging 178 dried or almost dead rivers in the country. 

Besides, they have collected 38 dredgers and 168 dredging auxiliary vessels, she said.

She added the government has adopted a dredging master plan in a bid to smooth operation of water vessels on the river routes through increasing navigability of the country’s big and small rivers.

Sheikh Hasina continued that BIWTA has taken a programme to create the navigability of some 10,000km waterways by carrying out dredging in 178 rivers under the master plan.

Source: BSS