Two and a half years have not been enough for the Public Works Department (PWD) to build a three-storey circuit house as two successive governments have been forced to extend the project's deadline for a total of four years, insiders said.
They said the ousted Sheikh Hasina government extended the deadline thrice, each time for a year, for completing the Kushtia circuit house construction project, and the present Prof Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration did so for one more year up to June 2025.
The PWD on behalf of the public administration ministry has been implementing the "Building of a new circuit house at Kushtia" project since January 2019, but it is still not completed.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) last month extended the project deadline for the fourth time till June 2025.
According to government officials, the previous Hasina administration not only extended the deadline three times but also revised the project once.
The ministry undertook the Tk 421.716 million project in 2019 to create better residential facilities for civil servants during their official visits to Kushtia.
A member at the Planning Commission (PC) said, "How could a government agency be so incapable of constructing a three-storey building? If the government does not start a punishment system for the liable persons or agencies, these types of incapability, failure, or malfunction will go on."
When asked, a PWD official said the new circuit house building has already been built, but its beautification and the demolition of the old one are yet to be started, resulting in delays in overall work of the project.
"After demolishing the old building, we will develop the place, set up a water fountain and an independence plaza, and complete arboriculture work. So, it will take another year to complete the entire project," he said.
The then planning minister in 2019 approved the project to be completed at a cost of Tk 421.716 million by June 2021.
But the PWD failed to construct the building by the deadline, and the authorities extended it for one more year up to June 2022.
After the failure to meet the deadline for the second time, the government extended it for another year up to June 2023.
In the meantime, the government also revised the project due to changes in some components in the proposal.
Yet, the PWD failed to meet the deadline once again, and the Hasina government was forced to extend it for another year up to June 2024.
This time, the PWD again sought an extension for one more year from the interim government, which was endorsed in the last ECNEC meeting headed by Prof Yunus on March 23.
Another Planning Commission official said when a project deadline is extended or revised, its expected outcome fades and the rate of return becomes slim.
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