Meandering mega projects

Your 'Trade & Market' page of June 02, raised the issue of six mega projects, titled 'Whither large infra projects?' It was interestingly presented with six small pictures with critical facts in brief.

Of the big six, three are power related, while the Metro rail too depends on uninterrupted power supply. Next comes the 1000MW nuclear plant, a potentially dangerous source of leaking radiation that could well herald another Chernobyl like disaster in Bangladesh.

Frankly, nuclear power seems to be the most dicey and dangerous route that we are taking for only 1000MW of power given the general experience in most developing countries. Also the recent Nepal disaster should be an eye-opener for us. The possibility of a dangerous earthquake tragedy can not be ignored. This very important and a potentially dangerous situation must be considered with due caution and all seriousness. The government must consider the unpredictable hazard of earthquake that can bring a future nuclear tragedy for Bangladesh.

Except for the huge cost of the deep seaport, the LNG and the Rampal power projects seem possibly all right. The bottleneck is how long it will take for these visions to become realities. The Padma Bridge is now an ongoing project and hopefully it will pick up more speed and become a reality. Let us hope that this critical communication link will herald a better tomorrow for the country in the decades ahead.

Engr.S.A.Mansoor

Dhaka.