Padma Bridge Rail Link Project costs to overrun by billions for iconic stations
Business Desk :
The railways ministry’s plan to amend the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project to tweak the design of four stations will take the spending billions over budget.
The ministry says the stations in Faridpur’s Bhanga, the two ends of the bridge at Mawa and Zajira, and Narail will be iconic ones.
Changing the design of only the junction at Bhanga may push the cost by Tk 2.8 billion or 75 times from the Tk 38.2 million earmarked for the station in the original plan, bdnews24.com reports.
Officials say the total cost may go up by several billions of takas, although the estimated cost to construct the three other stations have not been figured out.
“A world-class bridge is being constructed on the Padma river. We want everything related to the bridge to come with international standards,” said Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan.
He said the four stations will have modern facilities. “So the project cost will increase and amendments will be needed.”
The estimated cost of the railway link project was nearly Tk 392.5 billion when the Executive Committee of the Economic Council or ECNEC approved it in May 2018, reports FE.
The government is funding over Tk 210 billion with loans from China. It will finance the remainder of the money from its coffers.
Under the project, the authorities will construct 172-kilometre railway tracks from Faridpur’s Bhanga to Jashore via Narail. China Railway Group or CREC is expected to finish the job within 2024.
There will be 17 stations from Dhaka to Jashore, a railways ministry official said, citing the original plan.
The stations in Bhanga, Jashore’s Rupdia and Dhaka’s Gendaria will be renovated under the project while the 14 other stations will be new.
The railways ministry’s plan to amend the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project to tweak the design of four stations will take the spending billions over budget.
The ministry says the stations in Faridpur’s Bhanga, the two ends of the bridge at Mawa and Zajira, and Narail will be iconic ones.
Changing the design of only the junction at Bhanga may push the cost by Tk 2.8 billion or 75 times from the Tk 38.2 million earmarked for the station in the original plan, bdnews24.com reports.
Officials say the total cost may go up by several billions of takas, although the estimated cost to construct the three other stations have not been figured out.
“A world-class bridge is being constructed on the Padma river. We want everything related to the bridge to come with international standards,” said Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan.
He said the four stations will have modern facilities. “So the project cost will increase and amendments will be needed.”
The estimated cost of the railway link project was nearly Tk 392.5 billion when the Executive Committee of the Economic Council or ECNEC approved it in May 2018, reports FE.
The government is funding over Tk 210 billion with loans from China. It will finance the remainder of the money from its coffers.
Under the project, the authorities will construct 172-kilometre railway tracks from Faridpur’s Bhanga to Jashore via Narail. China Railway Group or CREC is expected to finish the job within 2024.
There will be 17 stations from Dhaka to Jashore, a railways ministry official said, citing the original plan.
The stations in Bhanga, Jashore’s Rupdia and Dhaka’s Gendaria will be renovated under the project while the 14 other stations will be new.
