Near-routine cost escalation of govt projects
We are concerned at the reported cost escalation of the project of a rail bridge to be built over Jamuna river. According to The Daily Star, the cost of the project has increased by 33 percent (amounting to Tk 3,216 crore) even before the start of the physical work. Although the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the Development Project Proforma (DPP) in December 2016 and the project was supposed to be implemented between January 2016 and December 2023, until now the consultants appointed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) have been able to only carry out some studies, review feasibility and prepare the design of the project.
Reportedly, the project budget has increased because of the decision to use "new technologies". So now the railways ministry will have to place a revised DPP before Ecnec for approval again and the work order will be issued once the Ecnec approves it. This means more time will be wasted before the project work starts.
Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, such cost escalations and time extensions of development projects have become like a norm these days. Often projects are passed with a certain budget and after a few years we get to learn about moves to increase their cost and duration. Over the past few years, this has been the case for all the important infrastructure development projects in the country. For example, the cost of the much-hyped Padma Bridge project has been increased several times. The same is the case for the Dhaka Metro Rail Project which was supposed to be complete by the end of 2020 but has been delayed by one year.
Apart from that, the project cost of Khulna-Mongla rail track had also been increased several times because of the delay in implementation, modification of components and extension of the services of consultants. Only in November 2019, The Daily Star reported that the estimated cost of constructing a third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport has been increased by 40 percent!
While corruption, inefficiency and a lack of foresight are generally the reasons for such cost increases, nobody is ever held responsible for this. This is unacceptable. It is time the government took a strong stance to stop this disturbing trend because when the time for a certain project is extended and the cost goes up, the burden always falls on the taxpayers.
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