Modhyapara project to cost Tk 588 cr more
Handover still 6 months away, discontent brewing among mineworkers employed by Bluestar
Rafique Sarker back from Modyapara, Dinajpur
Rangpur: Modhyapara hard rock project will take at least more six months to be ready for operation as the North Korean company NAMNAM is yet to complete the mine development work even after time extension thrice, said a Petrobangla official. The delay will involve a total of about Tk 588 crore additional expenditure for the government, the official disclosed to this correspondent on condition of anonymity. The original involvement in the project was Tk 650 crore. As per the original project profile, the company was to prepare the mine in June 2000 and hand it over to Petrobangla for operation. NAMNAM took one-year extension till June 2001. This involved additional Tk 207.41 core but the company failed to complete the work. The company then sought one year more but ECNEC Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) disagreed to sanction additional money. The company stopped work leaving the project in an uncertain condition. At last, after 18 months, the company started work as ECNEC approved additional Tk 380 crore. Some sources said NAMNAM could not complete the development work in time due to shortage of funds. As per the modified project profile, NAMNAM is scheduled to hand over the project to Petrobangla this month. Petrobangla officials at the site said about 20 percent work is yet to be completed. The remaining work will take at least six months, they said. Meanwhile, complexities have arisen over employment of mineworkers. A total of 322 mineworkers have been employed who will extract granite after handover of the mine to Petrobangla. Many of the workers talking to this correspondent said they appeared for jobs, knowing that they would be Petrobangla employees. They had applied for jobs seeing a Petrobangla advertisement. But now they are being asked to work under an outsourcing agent, Bluestar, a Bangladeshi contractor. They urged the Petrobangla authorities on several occasions to sit with them to settle the issue but in vain, they said. Asked about this, a source in Petrobangla said mineworkers should work under the outsourcing agent because this would be the best way to avoid trade union in future. The worker said they are thinking of agitation programmes. When completed, 50500 tonnes of granite will be extracted from the mine annually. The project will last 46 years.
| 
