A project that ended but did not really end

The government is yet to find ways to close one of the troubled projects of the Awami League regime, though the proposal for extending its deadline and increasing the cost was rejected in July last year.

Sources say a meeting chaired by Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser for rail and road transport, in October decided to revive the project to carry out only the emergency work within the approved cost of Tk 42.86 billion.

But no step has been taken till now, leaving the 20km corridor from Gazipur to Dhaka airport unsafe, they add.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) rejected the fourth revision proposal for the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport project on July 27, 2025.

The proposal sought to increase the cost by Tk 23.29 billion to complete the entire corridor.

Many flaws were identified in the project's original design that got in the way of establishing and making the bus rapid transit line 3 (BRT 3) operational with the introduction of modern vehicles.

The ECNEC also ordered an investigation into the design and execution issues, describing the design as "monstrous, unplanned".

After the ECNEC rejection and based on its recommendations, two committees were formed under the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) to determine the fate of the project as well as find those responsible for its poor state.

Officials outside the project were on the committee.

Sources say finding no solution in the reports of the committees, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges recently formed another one, headed by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Professor Md Shamsul Hoque, to review the overall situation.

Officials say the RHD and Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) have proposed completing at least some of the works, such as ramps touching the grade at Abdullahpur and flyovers at the Joydebpur crossing heading towards Mymensingh, as those are necessary to make the corridor infrastructure operational.

A BBA official says as per the meeting decision, the bridge authority, as an autonomous agency, will do the work using its funds.

But there is a need for special approval from the ECNEC for extending the project deadline, which expired in December 2024, he says.

The RHD's part of completing the emergency work is yet to be estimated.

"It is now confirmed that no step will be taken before the next government comes to power," says a project official.

Meanwhile, sources say some 50 sub-contractors of the project have claimed that the Chinese contractors owe them over Tk 800 million.

They have also sent a letter to the adviser in this connection.

Official sources, however, say more critical issues remain unsolved as no decision has been made on the functionality or closure of Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit PLC.

As the committee suggested closing the project for the time being and leaving the final decision to be made by the next government, the Road Transport and Highways Division also remains silent.

"BRT is a project that ended but did not really end," says another source.

Dhaka BRT (line 3) under the Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport project has faced significant challenges, including spiralling costs, delays, and design flaws leading to road narrowing, as well as bus procurement problems due to faulty feasibility study, wrong contractor selection, and poor coordination among agencies.

The cost of the project, taken in 2016, went up to Tk 42.86 billion from the original Tk 20.38 billion.

In the fourth revision, the authorities sought to extend the deadline till 2028 to complete the rest of the work, purchase 187 buses, and set up the ITC system and maintenance facility, which were not incorporated in the earlier one.

Though the development project proposal (DPP) was revised three times since approval, the deadline was extended several times due to the very slow implementation by two Chinese companies.

The fourth revision also proposed acquiring more land on the side of the depot to keep the scope for maintaining the BRT buses and introducing electric ones in the future.

Officials say if the project is revised under special arrangements, the cost will be lowered, which will lead to savings of Tk 10 billion, while Tk 5-7 million may be needed to carry out the emergency work.

The project has spent over Tk 28 billion since physical work began.

Despite the project officially declared closed in July last year, the government invited a proposal from the bus owners' association to introduce services on the dedicated corridor.

smunima@yahoo.com