Editorial Desk :
Increasing the budget of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge seems to be a never ending process. Since the planning of this crucial piece of infrastructure, a lot of dramas were staged nationally surrounding funding of the bridge from the World Bank, allegations of corruption and the construction of the bridge through the country’s ‘own’ fund. As a result, on the one hand completion of the bridge is taking an unusually long period of time and on the other hand, the cost of the bridge has been multiplied three times more than the cost originally fixed when the bridge was planned to be constructed with funds from the World Bank.
According to the original plan, the estimated cost of the bridge was 10,161.75 crore with 30 June, 2015, as the date of completion. Last time, the total cost of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project was set at Tk 30,193 crore and was scheduled
to be completed in June 2023. This timeline also could not be kept.
The bridge is still taking more money. The cost of the main bridge of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project, according to a report yesterday, has been increased further by Tk 1,117.97 crore. After this increase, the construction cost of the main bridge will go up to Tk 13,658.99 crore. After revision, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has approved the escalated cost now at Tk 32,605 crore and the timeframe of the project has been extended till June 2024.
When the bridge was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 25 June last year, it was thought that the bridge would not take any more money. But in Bangladesh, you can hardly get any infrastructure project where time for completion was not extended and the cost was not increased exponentially.
This speaks of the government’s no regard for public money. Here mega projects are undertaken for mega corruption. Looting of money from these projects and laundering the money out of the country is thought to have brought the country to its present economic crisis when general people are struggling to survive in these days of high food inflation.
