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Source: ESPN
Increase of project cost should be avoided
NEWSPAPERS reported on Wednesday that renovation costs of 2nd Kanchpur, Meghna and Gumti bridges, expected to open for vehicular movement before Eid-ul Fitr, lastly went up to Tk 78.2 crore. The Finance Minister himself disclosed this while approving the escalated cost at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on national purchases at the Secretariat. The delay in renovation works of the three important bridges on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway pushed up the project cost by 78.2 crore, he said.
The Minister attributed the delay to an attack by terrorists in the Holey Artisan Bakery in 2016 that killed 29 people, including 18 foreign and Japanese citizens. The bridge project worth Tk 8,487 crore, including a loan of Tk 6,429 crore from Japan International Cooperation Agency, was approved in 2013. The project was almost stalled as the Japanese experts involved in the renovation scheme lost their lives in the Holey Artisan incident.
Increase of project cost is nothing new in our country. This specific above project cost though has hiked due to delay for Gulshan terror attack; in fact costs of most of the country’s mega projects have been increased due to intentional delay, negligence, and widespread corruption. Earlier, costs of seven fast track mega development projects by the government had increased for the same reason. The projects are the Padma Bridge, Rooppur Nuclear Power Project, Payra Sea Port, the coal fired large power projects of Matarbari and Rampal, Metro Rail and LNG Terminal. Later, another one– Padma Bridge Rail Link project – was introduced with additional cost.
Not only that the flyovers in the capital have been constructed with additional budgets and most of them took extra time too. Of them, the name of Malibagh-Moghbazar flyover is mentionable. Everybody knows here that, delay of construction would increase the project cost which helps a section of people to pocket some extra money. It’s an old trend.
The Minister attributed the delay to an attack by terrorists in the Holey Artisan Bakery in 2016 that killed 29 people, including 18 foreign and Japanese citizens. The bridge project worth Tk 8,487 crore, including a loan of Tk 6,429 crore from Japan International Cooperation Agency, was approved in 2013. The project was almost stalled as the Japanese experts involved in the renovation scheme lost their lives in the Holey Artisan incident.
Increase of project cost is nothing new in our country. This specific above project cost though has hiked due to delay for Gulshan terror attack; in fact costs of most of the country’s mega projects have been increased due to intentional delay, negligence, and widespread corruption. Earlier, costs of seven fast track mega development projects by the government had increased for the same reason. The projects are the Padma Bridge, Rooppur Nuclear Power Project, Payra Sea Port, the coal fired large power projects of Matarbari and Rampal, Metro Rail and LNG Terminal. Later, another one– Padma Bridge Rail Link project – was introduced with additional cost.
Not only that the flyovers in the capital have been constructed with additional budgets and most of them took extra time too. Of them, the name of Malibagh-Moghbazar flyover is mentionable. Everybody knows here that, delay of construction would increase the project cost which helps a section of people to pocket some extra money. It’s an old trend.
