RHD needs addl Tk 55b in RADP
Funding need spikes on land acquisition for highways
Munima Sultana | Friday, 11 January 2019
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) of the government is seeking an additional allocation of Tk 55 billion (5,500 crore) in the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP).
Sources said it was seeking 73 per cent of the additional fund for a single project.
A significant portion of the remaining amount would be spent on 45 new projects which were on the ADP list without any fund allocation against them in the budget for the fiscal year 2018-19.
The RHD already submitted the demand note to the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRTB) for forwarding it to the Planning Commission.
According to the official data, Tk 157.28 billion was initially allocated for the RHD for implementing 173 projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) during the current fiscal year.
Out of the allocation, the department could spend only Tk 32.92 billion against the release of Tk 61.65 billion until December last.
Financial progress of the projects was nearly 60 per cent but physical progress was only 23.48 per cent, the data showed.
While revising the funding requirement for its projects under the ADP in consultation with project and zonal offices, the RHD seeks a total of Tk 212.98 billion.
Of the aggregate extra amount of funds, Tk 41.11 billion is being sought for completing the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga highway upgradation project by June.
According to the development project proposal (DPP), the project, launched in September last, is scheduled to be completed by June this year. It is being implemented by the Bangladesh Army.
The original Dhaka-Mawa four-lane project work kicked off in 2016 and it will end by June 2020, according to the DPP.
Sources said the RHD's revised requirement of funds went up on the account of acquisition of land for the projects undertaken to widen national highways like the Elenga-Hatikamrul-Rangpur and Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil-Jaflong routes.