ADB asks govt to speed up BR reformation process

---

Munima Sultana
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has asked the government to speed up the reformation process of the Bangladesh Railway as the work has already been behind schedule.
Officials said the ADB representatives led by its country director recently met the communication minister and expressed their concern at the delay in approving the first phase report of the cheapest goods and passenger transport sector.
They said the work on institutional reformation of the BR has already been one year behind schedule. The work is scheduled to begin in 2011. But it will not be possible to start the work before 2012. The BR reform plan was taken in 2007 for which ADB sanctioned US $130 million.
"The way reform works are progressing, we will need one year more to complete plans for its six components," said a senior official of BR adding the implementation period of the reform has been stated to end in 2014 after completing the plan by 2011.
The ADB concern also came as the cabinet sent back the Bangladesh Railway Reform Plan to the Communication Ministry in the first week of November for obtaining clearance from the Establishment and Finance ministries.
The clearance is yet to received by the ministry for placing the plan again before the cabinet, officials added.
Local and international consultants prepared the BR institutional reform plan based on first two components out of the six. In the plan a post of chairman will be created. The existing post of DG would be abolished in the new plan. The plan has also some guidelines that will make the BR a business-oriented organization