The government is expected to approve the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway project today (Tuesday) despite reservations of the Planning Commission (PC) due to high cost estimation, insiders have said.
The bloated-cost project is set to be placed at a scheduled meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the highest economic policy-making body headed by the Prime Minister, along with 75 other projects today (Tuesday).
"We have failed to restrict the project" as the RHD (Roads and Highways Department) has already signed a loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a senior official at the PC told the FE on Monday.
However, the PC has slashed Tk 35.80 billion from the RHD estimate of Tk 121.36 billion cost, he added.
The proposed 76 projects in a single ECNEC meeting would be record highest in Bangladesh, officials said.
Earlier, the PC raised several reservations over the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar road development project as the RHD proposed higher costs on some components.
It had also sent the project proposal back to the RHD to slash the overall cost as recommended at the project evaluation committee (PEC) meeting, he added.
The RHD has recently taken up the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highways project with Tk 5.16 billion proposed for widening each km of the 23.5-km road, officials said.
According to the Development Project Proposal (DPP), the RHD has kept aside Tk 5.5 billion for consultancy, Tk 25 billion in the price adjustment and higher funds for foreign and local trainings, honorarium, procuring cars and vehicles.
The PC has cut Tk 10 billion from the price adjustment components, nearly Tk 1.60 billion from the consultancy part and another Tk 10 billion from different other components of the project, another PC official told the FE.
Under the ODA loan package, JICA in March this year confirmed US$ 380 million worth of loan (Phase-I) for the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar road improvement project.
The road will be widened to four-lane with an expansionary provision of 6-lane from Chattogram-Cox's Bazar via Patia, Dohazari, Keranihat, Lohagara, and Chakaria.
Under the project, five key intersections from Chattogram to Cox's Bazar will also be improved to facilitate traffic movement.
When asked about the bloated cost of the road widening project, a RHD official said the JICA has conducted a feasibility study and recommended the cost based on Japan-standard road construction schemes, officials said.
Another PC official said that the proposed cost is higher than the other ongoing 4-lane projects being developed with support from different development partners, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Meanwhile, the PC is going to place at least 44 development projects before the ECNEC for approval and 32 other small and fresh schemes to inform the meeting.
The 32 fresh projects, each costing around Tk 500 million, have already been endorsed by the Planning Minister and now will be placed before the ECNEC for its information.
As per the government's project approval guideline, the Planning Minister has the capacity to endorse projects costing up to Tk 500 million while the projects costing more than Tk 500 million will require the ECNEC approval.
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