About 80 percent of the projects aimed at developing the country’s road
network are facing delays due to fund crisis and inefficiency, adding to
project costs.
This trend is likely to continue since the Padma bridge project is getting the lion’s share of the allocation in the transport and communications sector. The Padma bridge alone got an allocation of Tk 6,852 crore, out of Tk 7,000 crore given to the bridges division, in 2013-14 fiscal year.
The construction of the bridge is expected to begin later this year.
The roads division in 2013-14 fiscal year got Tk 177 crore less than Tk 3,634 crore, which it had in 2012-13.
The allocation was slashed even after the communications ministry has fears that people will get disappointed in the final year of this government’s tenure in case some major projects are not implemented.
Prof Shamsul Haq of Buet said dependency on foreign aid in implementing the major infrastructure development projects would go on. He emphasised the need for timely maintenance of roads and highways.
He suggested that the government inject enough funds in road expansion projects like Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh highway widening projects. “Otherwise, people will continue to suffer.”
While preparing this year’s annual development programme, directors of different ongoing projects under the Roads and Highways Department asked for Tk 7,000 crore.
In addition, the ministry demanded Tk 12,000 crore over the next few years to complete 18 mega projects.
The slow progress of different projects and inadequate fund allocation indicate that many important roads and highways development projects will not be completed timely and some could even stall due to fund shortages.
The Dhaka-Chittagong dual carriageway project is a glaring example. It already got time extension twice, escalating cost by Tk 1,000 crore.
The project to upgrade the Jatrabari-Kanchpur road into eight-lane is set to have the same fate.
Every year the ministry aims at finishing a number of projects and reduce the backlog of unfinished jobs. The target has never been achieved.
Hatirjheel project, Cantonment-Mirpur flyover and construction of some other roads and bridges have been completed while work on Hanif flyover, Mouchak-Moghbazar flyover, Kuril flyover, Dhaka-Mymensingh dual carriageway project was underway.
The Dhaka Elevated Expressway project, however, remains uncertain.
Out of 172 projects, the ministry completed only 18 projects in 2011-12 fiscal year. The ministry is facing challenges to finish its targeted 30 projects, out of 155 projects in 2012-13 fiscal year.
Despite this, communications ministry officials believe that they would be able to finish some of the projects to create a positive impression about the ministry’s performance.
In the budget, the finance minister gave special emphasis on road maintenance and road safety.
POOR SHOW IN PPP
While the roads and highways sector suffered hugely due to crisis of funds, the government failed to spend a single penny allocated for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme in the last four years.
The government first attempted to spend Tk 2,700 crore for the Dhaka Elevated Expressway but could not do so as the project was not readied for construction.
The government’s inefficiency and land-acquisition related problems are the reasons behind the failure of PPPs.
The finance minister yesterday admitted that the PPP initiative could not make much headway.
“It took quite a while to establish the new PPP office,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said in his budget speech.
Muhith rolled out the idea in his first budget speech in 2009-10 to encourage private sector’s involvement in infrastructure projects.
The government has even failed to finalise the law for PPP, which is still pending with the cabinet.
However, the finance minister said the selection process of PPP projects has gathered pace. Until mid-May this year, 30 projects have been selected, of which 17 have been listed, consultants have been appointed in 14 projects and implementation has begun in six projects.
Besides political tension, analysts say that the government’s failure to operate PPP has affected the overall investments in the country.
“Inability to operate the much hyped PPP is the most critical factor which affected private investment expansion,” said Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue.
This trend is likely to continue since the Padma bridge project is getting the lion’s share of the allocation in the transport and communications sector. The Padma bridge alone got an allocation of Tk 6,852 crore, out of Tk 7,000 crore given to the bridges division, in 2013-14 fiscal year.
The construction of the bridge is expected to begin later this year.
The roads division in 2013-14 fiscal year got Tk 177 crore less than Tk 3,634 crore, which it had in 2012-13.
The allocation was slashed even after the communications ministry has fears that people will get disappointed in the final year of this government’s tenure in case some major projects are not implemented.
Prof Shamsul Haq of Buet said dependency on foreign aid in implementing the major infrastructure development projects would go on. He emphasised the need for timely maintenance of roads and highways.
He suggested that the government inject enough funds in road expansion projects like Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh highway widening projects. “Otherwise, people will continue to suffer.”
While preparing this year’s annual development programme, directors of different ongoing projects under the Roads and Highways Department asked for Tk 7,000 crore.
In addition, the ministry demanded Tk 12,000 crore over the next few years to complete 18 mega projects.
The slow progress of different projects and inadequate fund allocation indicate that many important roads and highways development projects will not be completed timely and some could even stall due to fund shortages.
The Dhaka-Chittagong dual carriageway project is a glaring example. It already got time extension twice, escalating cost by Tk 1,000 crore.
The project to upgrade the Jatrabari-Kanchpur road into eight-lane is set to have the same fate.
Every year the ministry aims at finishing a number of projects and reduce the backlog of unfinished jobs. The target has never been achieved.
Hatirjheel project, Cantonment-Mirpur flyover and construction of some other roads and bridges have been completed while work on Hanif flyover, Mouchak-Moghbazar flyover, Kuril flyover, Dhaka-Mymensingh dual carriageway project was underway.
The Dhaka Elevated Expressway project, however, remains uncertain.
Out of 172 projects, the ministry completed only 18 projects in 2011-12 fiscal year. The ministry is facing challenges to finish its targeted 30 projects, out of 155 projects in 2012-13 fiscal year.
Despite this, communications ministry officials believe that they would be able to finish some of the projects to create a positive impression about the ministry’s performance.
In the budget, the finance minister gave special emphasis on road maintenance and road safety.
POOR SHOW IN PPP
While the roads and highways sector suffered hugely due to crisis of funds, the government failed to spend a single penny allocated for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme in the last four years.
The government first attempted to spend Tk 2,700 crore for the Dhaka Elevated Expressway but could not do so as the project was not readied for construction.
The government’s inefficiency and land-acquisition related problems are the reasons behind the failure of PPPs.
The finance minister yesterday admitted that the PPP initiative could not make much headway.
“It took quite a while to establish the new PPP office,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said in his budget speech.
Muhith rolled out the idea in his first budget speech in 2009-10 to encourage private sector’s involvement in infrastructure projects.
The government has even failed to finalise the law for PPP, which is still pending with the cabinet.
However, the finance minister said the selection process of PPP projects has gathered pace. Until mid-May this year, 30 projects have been selected, of which 17 have been listed, consultants have been appointed in 14 projects and implementation has begun in six projects.
Besides political tension, analysts say that the government’s failure to operate PPP has affected the overall investments in the country.
“Inability to operate the much hyped PPP is the most critical factor which affected private investment expansion,” said Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of Centre for Policy Dialogue.
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