Bangladesh’s tragic project implementation record

It shook Bangladesh to the core when, on August 15 last year, a tragic – bizarre and avoidable – construction accident killed five, including two children, at the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project site on the capital's busy Airport Road. An under-capacity crane – with an ill-trained operator at the wheels – carrying a viaduct segment toppled over, and the massive concrete block dropped on top of a passenger vehicle. A probe committee quickly pointed fingers at the contractor, their unlicensed crane operator, and the project's security. But what led to this unfortunate incident? Who was responsible for ensuring that only equipment of adequate capacity would be deployed? That operators are licensed, certified, trained, and experienced? Moreover, why is this project still lingering for 11 years, when the original plan was only for four? And why has its cost more than doubled?

Bangladesh has deservedly earned global respect for the successful implementation of the Padma Bridge. But, at the same time, there are numerous projects which are suffering chronic delays and cost escalations, jeopardising its odyssey to becoming a developed nation.

Unless Bangladesh shifts from a low-cost, labour-based economy to one with higher technical and management skills, there is a real risk of us falling into a middle-income trap. To sustain the momentum after transitioning to middle-income status, Bangladesh must switch to technology- and productivity-driven competitiveness.

The Daily Star reported on October 3 that thirteen railway projects are facing up to a 260 percent cost overrun, taking up to 9.5 years longer to finish than originally planned. On July 13, the paper pointed out that the Modern Food Storage Facilities Project, commencing in 2014 to build eight silos, has seen only 50 percent progress. The silos are still non-existent, though the cost has gone up by 86 percent. Last year, a parliamentary committee expressed deep resentment over repeated deadline extensions and cost increases in almost all local government projects. The World Bank's Bangladesh Country Partnership Framework for FY2023-27 highlighted chronic project implementation delays, a complex maze of project approval processes, and an overall lack of capabilities in related disciplines. Between 2016 and 2021, Bangladesh's average project implementation period was more than seven years, an abysmal performance by any standard.

For a nation that is steadily moving towards gaining middle-income status and aspires to become a developed country by 2041, all these pose a serious risk of getting into what economists call a middle-income trap. Many nations which fell into it faced dead-ends and failed to make the transition from resource-driven growth with low-cost labour to being driven by higher-value production. To avoid being in such a situation, Bangladesh must move up the Global Value Chain (GVC) by improving its project implementation capacity.

Bangladesh has already become a development miracle as it transformed itself from a "basket case" to one of the world's fastest-growing economies within five decades since its independence. Its economy has grown steadily, racking up an average annual GDP growth of 6.4 percent between 2016 and 2021. With a GDP per capita of around $2,800 in 2022, Bangladesh is on track to become an upper-middle-income country (with a GDP per capita of at least $4,000) by 2031. Proving its resilience, the country has coped well during natural disasters, such as major floods (in 1988, 1998, 2004, and 2007), storm surges (Sidr in 2007 and Aila in 2009), and has absorbed global shocks such as the 2007-2009 worldwide financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group.

But, according to a report by the Centre for Policy Dialogue, unless Bangladesh shifts from a low-cost, labour-based economy to one with higher technical and management skills, there is a real risk of us falling into a middle-income trap. To sustain the momentum after transitioning to middle-income status, Bangladesh must switch to technology- and productivity-driven competitiveness. For this, better project management and implementation skills would be essential.

This means the country must offer adequate learning and training opportunities to young professionals, particularly in engineering. Bangladesh has no shortage of knowledgeable practitioners and academics. Yet, their experience, knowledge, and wisdom are not being utilised for the betterment of aspiring project managers. Currently, most Bangladeshi universities teach project management from a theoretical perspective. This is because few textbooks or reference materials focus on the practical aspects of project management and implementation in the local context. The available books, written by professionals or researchers in other countries, do not address issues characteristic of the Bangladesh situation, thus seeming mostly theoretical to local students.

Bangladesh must fill in this critical gap if it wants to develop project managers who can deliver projects effectively and efficiently, without time and cost overruns. Those studying project management should not have to suffer from a lack of source materials that offer insight into real-life scenarios, the big picture of different thematic sectors, and the complexities of the project implementation cycle in Bangladesh.

All projects should be implemented with Padma Bridge-like precision or better. This project, although a point of pride, also faced delays and cost overruns. Luckily, those were managed professionally and by following internationally accepted standards and procedures. There is no reason why Bangladesh can't do the same for every major government project.

Dr Sayeed Ahmed is a consulting engineer and the CEO of Bayside Analytix, a technology-focused strategy and management consulting organisation. The author and his two colleagues are co-writing a book on the practical aspects of project implementation in Bangladesh, meant for young engineers, professionals, and aspiring project managers.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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