Kushtia Medical College, Hospital Project: A deadline that would never end

Around eight years ago, the government had approved a project to establish Kushtia Medical College and Hospital between January 2012 and December 2014 at the cost of Tk 275.44 crore.

 The project, which was taken up without any feasibility study, witnessed only 34 percent progress till December 2019. In the meantime, its cost rose to Tk 611.08 crore.

 Moreover, many allegations of irregularities in the project surfaced, including the use of bamboo and wood instead of steel for constructing one of the buildings and the death of a worker after a portion of an under-construction building collapsed on him.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the project's implementing agency, yesterday sought approval for a hike in project cost as well as an extension of deadline, which irked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

 Instead of approving the revised proposal at Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, Hasina, who presided over the meeting virtually, directed the authorities concerned to investigate the delay and cost hike and take departmental action against those responsible, meeting sources said.

The DGHS sought extension of the project deadline till June 2023 and a rise in project cost, which is 147.76 percent more than the original one.

After the meeting, Planning Minister Abdul Mannan told reporters that the project was supposed to be completed in 2014 and the deadline was extended to December 2019 in several phases.

Now, the DGHS sought another extension till 2023, meaning it would take 11 years to implement one project, he said, adding, "The prime minister has expressed serious discontent and annoyance over the matter. This is not acceptable."

Although the project authorities tried to give reasons for the delay, the PM did not want to hear any excuses.

"She [the PM] asked me to conduct an investigation through IMED [Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division] immediately. She also asked to involve other agencies concerned, and, if necessary, to investigate every nook and cranny [of the project]," Mannan said.

He said they will form a committee today and submit report before the prime minister soon.

'MISMANAGEMENT FROM THE START'

In 2012, the government took up the project to establish an institution for medical education and provide modern medical facilities to the people of Kushtia and adjacent areas.

But no feasibility test was carried out before the project was approved. Even a land was not selected till then, according to an in-depth report of IMED released in June last year.

The deadline of the project was extended till 2016 in two phases, without escalating the project cost. But when the project went through the first revision in 2018, the cost rose to TK 611.08 crore and the deadline was set to December 2019.

The project saw 34 percent physical progress till 2019 and the second revision proposal remained pending for one year, creating obstacles in implementation.

According to the report, not only was construction of the buildings incomplete, the bidding process of some buildings was not done.

"Mismanagement was found from the outset," read the report, adding that all infrastructures are being implemented under 71 packages, where only one building is being constructed under four packages.

"As a result, time and money were wasted," it said, adding that as the project work was divided into small packages, major contractors did not show much interest.

The project authorities called tender following the rate schedule of 2011, instead of the rate schedule of 2008 as mentioned in the Development Project Proposal, which created further complexities, read the report.

As the medical college has been admitting 50 students every year since 2012, its academic activities have been ongoing in other buildings and without any medical equipment.

No equipment for the hospital or medical education could be procured as constructions of the buildings could not be completed.

While approving the first revision of the project on June 21, 2018, the Ecnec directed the authorities concerned to take action against those responsible for irregularities by changing "the scope of work" mentioned in the DPP and by violating the financial and planning discipline.

"However, no action was taken yet in this regard," read the report.

Citing the IMED's report, when a reporter asked what action was taken over the irregularities, Abul Kalam Azad, member (socio-economic infrastructure division) of the Planning Commission, said action, including termination of jobs, was taken following the report and the project was recast.

"However, flaws in the project [implementation] still remain," he said.

In its report, IMED mentioned 25 weak points, including unskilled contractors and their negligence.

It also mentioned that bamboo and wood was being used instead of steel in a building. On January 17, 2019, a portion of that building gave way, killing one worker and injuring 10 others.

Although the liable contractor was barred from participating in the bidding process of the Public Works Department for two years, the work for the project continued and no one was bound to pay compensation for the accident, read the report.

Meanwhile, the Ecnec yesterday approved six other projects at the total cost of Tk 9,569.23 crore.