Progress in mega projects in Bangladesh is likely to be disrupted in the absence of vaccination measures for hundreds of foreign nationals working at field level.
Among the foreigners, the government has prioritised diplomats and mission offices in the first phase registration for vaccine against coronavirus.
Health directorate recently opened a window for the staff working under different foreign agencies like Japan International Cooperation Agency, DFID and USAID to register for vaccine.
But sources said thousands of Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Thai nationals are working on different mega projects in the country at field level.
The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) during a virtual press briefing on Tuesday admitted that six foreign nationals recently tested positive for Covid-19 while working for MRT line-06.
Among six mass rapid transit lines, MRT-06 is now at construction stage and scope for confinement is not possible like Padma Multipurpose Bridge and Karnaphuli tunnel projects.
With the latest count, 343 local and foreign staff working under the first metro rail project have been infected with coronavirus, said DMTCL managing director MAN Siddique from his office.
Some Indians were infected at the outbreak of the deadly virus.
According to Mr Siddique, the DMTCL has already requested the government to fast-track vaccination for MRT staffers to make progress uninterrupted.
Bridges division secretary Mohammad Belayet Hossain said Padma Bridge project also sought scope to inoculate its more than 600 foreign staff without delay to keep the priority project's progress on.
As Karnaphuli tunnel project area is restricted, no demand for vaccinating Chinese working there was placed, he cited.
Mr Hossain said many top-level Chinese officials under the Bangladesh Bridges Authority (BBA)-undertaken projects have already taken vaccines from their home.
Apart from Chinese, BBA and DMTCL have Indian and Thai nationals in MRT and Dhaka elevated expressway projects.
The Bangladesh Railway has also foreigners for Padma Bridge rail link project and Bangabandhu rail bridge.
As Covid-19 hit Bangladesh early last year, most of the foreign nationals left for their countries following the countrywide lockdown for months.
With special arrangements, some foreign nationals were brought back to workstations. But senior consultants or experts of many projects are still working from home.
Other than field-level foreign staff, the DMTCL has a good number of foreign consultants working at study level and detailed design work for other MRT projects.
smunima@yahoo.com