Ecnec approves revision of two projects, cost up 29pc
The government yesterday revised the cost of two projects upwards by 28.72 per cent as perennial problems of complexity in land acquisition and frequent changes to project directors continue to delay construction and raise expenditures.
A meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the revision of two projects and gave the go-ahead to a new one, involving a total of Tk 5,189 crore.
The Sonapur (Noakhali)-Sonagazi (Feni)-Jorarganj (Chattogram) Road Development Project has seen the second revision. The initial cost of the project was Tk 172.65 crore and now it has gone up by 58.37 per cent to Tk 293.05 crore.
The cost revision is mainly because of the increase in the expenditure on land acquisition by Tk 107.83 crore. Once completed, the road would establish a secure and congestion-free road transport communication in Noakhali, Feni and Chattogram, the planning ministry said in a document.
The project is expected to complete by June 2021. The first revision of the Elenga-Hatikamrul-Rangpur Highway saw its cost soar by 40.02 per cent.
The 190km highway would be converted into four lanes under the project. The project would improve the country's connectivity with the South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (Sasec) corridors 4 and 9, the Asian Highway-2, the Bimstec-2 and the Saarc Highway Corridor-4.
Now, the project would cost Tk 16,662 crore, up from Tk 11,899 crore initially. The deadline for the project is December 2024.
The compensation for the acquired land has increased by three folds as per the land acquisition law of 2017. An additional 127 hectares of land would have to be acquired to construct an interchange in Hatikamrul. As a result, the cost for land acquisition would go up by Tk 2,253 crore and the land settlement cost by Tk 226 crore, the ministry document showed.
The project would improve the connectivity of the country's northern districts with the capital city.
The Ecnec approved a new project: Improving Infrastructure and Road Safety in Dhaka North City Corporation. The project would aim at developing the key roads of the city in a planned manner to make traffic movement easier and reduce congestion.
Under the project, new foot-over bridges would be constructed and the existing ones would be repaired. The cost of the project is Tk 319.23 crore and it would be implemented by June 2023.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Md Ashadul Islam, senior secretary of the Planning Division, said lawsuits are mainly responsible for the delay in land acquisition. This ultimately delays the implementation of a project.
The prime minister has directed ministries to speed up their efforts to settle court cases quickly, he said.
The prime minister also ordered not to change project directors frequently, he said.
Frequent changes of project directors have been a perennial problem in Bangladesh. Planning Minister MA Mannan visited many project sites in the last couple of years and held review meetings of the projects but to no avail, said an official of the planning ministry.