The Roads and Highways Division under the ministry of road transport and bridges (MoRTB) has sought Tk 5.0 billion more for implementing the limping four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway project, officials said.
A request letter seeking additional funds beyond the current budget allocation reached the ministry of finance (MoF) recently.
In the letter, the division requested necessary steps for providing the money in consideration of 'national importance' attached to the priority project. Â
"Fund supply for the four-lane highway and other large projects of the division under the MoRTB has become difficult," a high official of the MoRTB said.
Following the fund constraints, the road developer has taken initiative to reduce the projects worth below Tk 500 million to 55 in the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, sources said.
The MoF has allocated Tk 46.07 billion to the division in the annual development programme (ADP) of the current FY under the Medium-Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF). It happens to be Tk 12.0 billion less than the demand.
As a result, implementation of the four-lane highway project has been facing hurdles.
The Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway is 192.30 kilometres.
Although the cost of the project was initially projected at Tk 16 billion, which was revised upward thrice, fixing the expenditure cost at Tk 31.90 billion. However, the government has, so far, released Tk 21billion in favour of the project.
Some Tk 5.0 billion has been allocated to the project for the FY 2014-15. But the division has taken a work plan to spend Tk 10.0 billion for the FY for cost overrun.
On the other hand, the deadline for completion of the four-lane project has also been extended by two years until December 2014 as the project was to be completed, according to the revised project proposal, by December 2012.
According to project insiders, around 40 per cent of the project work remains incomplete.
Chittagong is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. It is designated as Commercial Capital of the country for its position as a hub for export and import.
Besides, Chittagong Port is the principal seaport of Bangladesh, handling about 92 per cent of import-export trade of the country. As such, its importance in the national economy is paramount.
The four lanes of the highway will contribute to expediting the country's overall import-export and foreign trades if it is improved.
A total of 120 projects are being continued in ADP under the division in the current FY.
rezamumu@gmail.com