The ICT Division has submitted a second revision proposal for the Bangladesh Institute of Frontier Technology (BIFT) preliminary infrastructure project, estimating the cost at Tk 38.90 billion, a 153.5-percent increase from the current estimate of Tk 15.34 billion.
This came after just 15 per cent of the work was completed since the project's launch in January 2022.
Amid the government's tight fiscal space and the constraints of the Medium-Term Budget Framework (MTBF) of the ICT Division, the Planning Commission is expected to question the revision, describing the Tk 23.56 billion escalation as extravagant and demanding detailed justification.
Officials say the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division has scheduled a Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting next week to scrutinise the proposal.
A working paper prepared for the meeting lists 21 observations, raising concerns over fiscal space, component-wise allocation, and the project's stated objectives.
According to Planning Commission sources, BIFT, approved in 2016, has been operating its four departments on rented premises in Gazipur since the 2018-19 academic year.
A separate Tk 8 billion project for land acquisition and preliminary infrastructure for the full university remains under review.
Experts have questioned the proposed BIFT budget, noting it is 4.86 times higher than the approved outlay for the full university's preliminary infrastructure.
They argue that such a steep increase for essentially the same objective may be excessive and difficult to justify.
Documents reveal that the BIFT preliminary infrastructure project, launched with a cost estimate of Tk 15.03 billion, is expected to be completed by December 2026.
The first revision, approved with a minor cost increase to Tk 15.34 billion, did not change the deadline.
The second revision, however, proposes raising the budget by Tk 23.87 billion - a 158.76 per cent increase from the original - while extending the deadline to December 2029.
Officials note that the commission received an earlier e-proposal in November last year, estimating the cost at Tk 35.81 billion.
It recommended either reducing costs or dropping the project from the Annual Development Programme (ADP) as some works remained unfinished.
"The proposed second revision appears to show abnormal cost escalation. When project revisions result in such excessive increases, their justification must be thoroughly examined," reveals a letter from the Planning Commission.
Rather than revising, the project could be declared complete and, if necessary, a new project could be initiated, it added.
The letter further noted that under the MTBF and the project's financing plan, the ICT Division's fiscal space was negative, and the revised budget proposal did not indicate how the additional funding would be sourced.
Following the additional scrutiny recommendations, the ICT Division has now resubmitted the proposal, increasing the cost by a further Tk 3.09 billion before it goes back to the Planning Commission.
The PEC meeting is expected to put the ICT Division under close scrutiny, focusing on whether the revised budget aligns with deliverables and the country's fiscal priorities, say officials.
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