Highway Expansion Project: PD appointed in just 5 days after PM’s discontent

In a rare move, Road Transport and Bridges Ministry yesterday appointed a project director within five days of the approval of the Jhenaidah-Jashore highway expansion project.

The move came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the last ECNEC meeting expressed serious discontent over the five-year tenure of the project and asked to cut the project period by two years.

It takes some two to three months to have a project director appointed for a Roads and Highways Department (RHD) project, department officials said.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday passed the Tk 4,188-crore project to upgrade the 48.50km highway to four lanes, with service lanes.

The tenure of the project, which would be implemented with a loan from the World Bank, had a stipulated deadline of October 2020 to December 2025 including a one-year defect liability period.

But Hasina, at the ECNEC meeting, reportedly questioned why it would take five years to improve a 48km road and asked to complete construction work within 2023, sources said.

After such directives, Road Transport and Highway Division Secretary Nazrul Islam held a meeting on the same day and his division initiated the process to appoint project director the following day, they said.

The division yesterday issued a circular appointing Zabid Hasan, now a superintending engineer of the RHD, as the project director of "Jhenaidah-Jashore Highway (N-7) Development Project".

Through the same circular, Abu Sayeed Md Nazmul Huda, another RHD superintending engineer, was appointed for the project to turn Sylhet-Tamabil Highway into four lanes with two service lanes.

The Tk 3,586 crore Sylhet-Tamabil Highway project was approved by the ECNEC on September 1, meaning the project director was appointed some three months after its approval.

In separate circular, two additional project directors were appointed for the two projects.

"Like this project [Sylhet-Tamabil Highway], it takes two to three months to have a project director appointed for an RHD project," an RHD engineer, preferring anonymity, told The Daily Star yesterday.

After any project gets the ECNEC's approval, the meeting minutes go to the Prime Minister Office for her signature and then ECNEC issues official order approving the project.

After receiving the order, the ministry concerned gives executive approval to the project and then initiates the process for appointing a project director, he said.

In some cases, the ECNEC gives some observations about the project features and in those cases, it may take four to five months to appoint a project director, he added.

"So, appointment of project director within five days is unprecedented. It would save two to three months of this project. This is a welcome move," he said.

Abu Sayed Sheikh, additional secretary of the division, said they have appointed the PD quickly as the higher authority wanted to expedite the project work soon.

The 48.50km Jhenaidah-Jashore Highway is a part of a 260km road corridor that would be developed under a programme called "Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement Programme (WeCARE)" of the RHD.

The 260km road corridor would be improved into four lanes under four parts, aiming to improve cross-border connectivity with neighbouring countries.

Two parts -- Hatikumrul-Bonpara-Ishwardi Road and Kushtia-Jhenaidah Road -- would be implement with a loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Two other parts -- Jashore –Jhenaidah Road and Navaron –Satkhira -Bhomra Road -- would be implemented with a WB loan.

While the Jhenaidah-Jashore Highway project was approved, a Development Project Proposal for the Kushtia-Jhenaidah part has already been sent to the Planning Commission, an RHD official said.

DPPs for the next two phases would be placed gradually, he added.