Bridge renovation projects across the country have been slowed down after moving away from plans to build a major bridge to connect economic zones.
After the construction of 22 bridges instead of one, it is expected that the project will be implemented within a specified period.
In addition, the project revision also estimated extra expenditure. This situation was created during the implementation of the 'Western Bridge Improvement Project' under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.
The information has been disclosed in a report produced by the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning.
Achieve half of the target
Although the project was taken up in November 2015 at a cost of Tk 2 thousand 911 crore, the duration of the project was later extended to June 2022.
But till April this year, its cumulative expenditure is Tk 1 thousand 621 crore which is 59 percent of the total allocation. According to the IMED, it is not possible to implement the project in time as per the current situation.
Problems with a bridge
One of the main objectives of the project was to further improve the communication system in the economic zones of the country. In this context, plan was taken to construct a bridge at the AK Khan Economic Zone on the Shitalakshya river at Palash of Narsingdi.
But instead of building this bridge, a plan was taken to build 22 new small bridges. After taking the plan, the amendment of DPP was delayed for about 24 months. Besides, there was a delay of about 36 months in mentioning 22 bridges in the original DPP.
Delay in foreign investment
Afsar Ali, administrative officer of the project monitoring and evaluation branch of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, said at the beginning of the project the bridge was stipulated to build in foreign investment.
But as no investment was found, the plan was revised and decision was taken to build 22 separate bridges elsewhere with own funds. This problem of investment led to slowness of the project.
“The first wave of Coronavirus infection slowed down the project. The IMED report could not feature the whole project development as many aspects were yet to be added. But we hope the work will be completed on time,” Afsar Ali said.
Additional consulting costs
After the revision of the project, the amount of basic consulting services decreased by 1897 per month, but the overall cost increased by about Tk 11 crore 84 lakh.
Besides, the construction of bridges in Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh has resulted in faulty construction. On the other hand, many bridges have built straight walls instead of providing eco-friendly railings.
The original purpose not implemented yet
One of the objectives of the project was to promote the development of the national economy by connecting it with an economic zone.
But this objective could not be achieved as no bridge was built in the economic zone due to lack of foreign investment. Poverty reduction was also mentioned at the beginning of the project, but no details were given about the process which the project would be implemented by.
