If the projection made in a recent survey carried out by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD turns out to be true, the much-discussed Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway project would serve as a classic example of the way an incompetent and callous government agency can waste public money in the name of development.
The four-lane project in question has been at the centre of public discussion, not just because of its importance as the economic lifeline of the country. There were also quite a few unpalatable developments involving it.
The project was taken up in 2006 at an estimated cost of Tk. 21.68 billion and was scheduled to be completed by 2012. But that was not to be. The life of the four-lane project was extended four times. And, obviously, its cost was also revised upward thrice, on various pretexts. After the latest revision, the project cost now stands at Tk. 38.16 billion. However, there is nothing unique about time extension and upward revision of cost of public sector development projects. It has become part of the public sector development process, to be honest.
But the projection made by the RHD survey about the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane projects is far more serious in nature. A contemporary, quoting the RHD survey, said that the project that is expected to be completed at the end of the current year would lose its effectiveness in 2020, in terms of traffic carrying capacity.
Since the four-lane is not yet ready, it is not possible to predict what the situation would be when it is opened to traffic. One can, however, expect smoother traffic movement. But if the RHD survey projection is proved to be true, then chaos would stage a comeback on the four-lane only after four years. Then the substantial amount spent on the expansion of the highway would mean nothing but wastage.
The RHD says its original projection about vehicular movement, made during the four-lane project preparation, is now proved to be too conservative. In 2006 it had estimated the annual traffic growth at 6.0 per cent and, on the basis of that estimate, the traffic capacity of the four-lane project was supposed to reach the saturation point in 2030.
The traffic growth was in line with the original RHD estimate until 2010. But the annual traffic growth in next five years, according to the RHD, had been between 8.0-10 per cent. The officials concerned now blame the 'unusual increase' in traffic movement through this most important national highway for creating all the problems.
The government has a plan to build an expressway between Dhaka and Chittagong. The officials concerned are also now pressing for this cost-intensive project. There is no denying that such an expressway is necessary since there is no way of expanding the highway any further because of a number of practical difficulties.
But given the efficiency level of the RHD in mega project execution, one can well guess how many years it would take to complete an expressway between Dhaka and Chittagong. It has taken more than eleven years to convert a two-lane highway into four-lane one.
Commuters and businesses have reasons to be worried about the traffic movement situation involving the Dhaka-Chittagong highway after 2020. The situation might turn even worse than what it is now.
However, there is one way of keeping the traffic movement smooth for some more years. Nearly a half of the vehicles that are now using the highway reportedly are trucks, covered vans and container-carrying trailers. The traffic movement could be made smoother if the number of these vehicles could be reduced effectively.
One of doing it is the transportation of export-import cargoes and goods in bulk quantities through the railway. Businesses are not availing the services of Bangladesh Railway (BR) for transporting their goods despite lower costs. There are quite a number of hassles involved in availing the BR services.
The people's perception is that the road transport owners would never allow the BR's freight services to be efficient with a view to continuing their own domination. There are people also in the BR and the ministry of railway who, in exchange for pecuniary benefits, do not want their own parastatal to play a greater role in goods transportation between Dhaka and Chittagong and help the BR to earn more revenue.
The BR has been under a modernisation programme using funds from both local and external sources. The government policymakers should lay due emphasis on improving the efficiency level of the BR's freight services to prove the sceptics wrong.
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Not money\'s worth
Shamsul Huq Zahid | Published: May 25, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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