Blockades bar execution of RHD projects

Shah Alam Nur | Published: January 04, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Implementation of the Annual Development Programmes (ADPs) of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has been facing disruption due to the frequent countrywide blockades that began in October last year, officials said.
Â "The RHD project implementation has totally been halted due to the absence of a stable political situation," Shahidunnabi, Superintending Engineer at the RHD told the FE.
He said: "If the present situation continues, then implementation costs of most RHD projects will go up due to the delayed construction activities".
He said in the current fiscal year, the RHD have gotten 12 big project approvals from ECNEC (Executive committee of the national economic council) but the department could not go for implementation of those projects.Â Â
Mr Nabi said: "Transportation of construction materials has almost been stopped which is the key reason behind the poor progress of the development work."Â Â Â
He said due to countrywide frequent shutdowns and blockades they could complete only 7.5 kilometres of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway four- lane project in last 20 months.
Mr Nabi said the Dhaka-Chittagong highway four- lane project cost has increased to Tk 31.90 billion from the primary allocation of Tk 21.68 billion due to the delay.
In last seven years only 30pc work of four-lane Dhaka-Ctg highway project has been completed, he added.
Â "Not only RHD projects but other ADPs have also been facing setback due to volatile political environment", Planning Secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam told the FE on Thursday.
"A few local contractors can be seen on the roads, but foreign firms are totally absent which is a very bad sign for development works as major projects are mostly handled by foreign engineers," he said.
Executive Director, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) Ahsan H Mansur told the FE that ADP implementation rate would be lower in the current fiscal compared to that of previous year mainly due to the prevailing political turmoil in the country.
In the last fiscal year (2012-13) the rate of implementation of the ADP projects was 96 per cent but in the current fiscal year (2013-14) it is likely to suffer a setback due to the absence of stable political situation, he said.
However, according to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) data, the implementation of ADP was in the negative territory during the July-November period of the current fiscal compared to the same period of the last fiscal.
It also shows all the government ministries and divisions have spent Tk 131.56 billion, 20 per cent of Tk 658.72 billion ADP fund allocation, in July-November period.
In the same period of last FY (2012-13), the government ministries and divisions spent 25 per cent of total Tk 550 billion fund allocations in the ADP.