The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has spent only Tk 27.5 million in more than two and a half years -- just 0.24 per cent of the total Tk 11.33 billion project -- to procure 340 CNG-powered single-decker air-conditioned buses.
Amid delays in bid evaluation, foreign lender approvals, contract signing and delivery, the Roads Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) has proposed extending the project tenure by another year without any additional cost, sources said.
"Separate proposals were sent last week to the Planning Commission, the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) seeking an extension of the project tenure until December 2026," a senior RTHD official told the Financial Express.
If approved, the extension would allow the procurement to be completed within 3.5 years -- far exceeding the originally planned 1.5-year timeline when the project was launched in July 2023, according to the proposal.
However, even with the proposed one-year extension, the project is unlikely to be completed, a BRTC official said, noting that it took around 15 months after ECNEC approval to appoint the project director and recruit a consultant.
Although the tender notice was published last month, the BRTC has sought an additional two years from the RTHD, estimating that delivery of the buses would take at least another 15 months, he added.
The project, titled "Procurement of CNG Single Decker AC Buses for BRTC", aims to modernise Dhaka's urban transport system and expand inter-city services, with plans to operate 140 buses in the capital and 200 on routes outside Dhaka.
The initiative is intended to complement the bus route rationalisation programme and facilitate the gradual phase-out of oil-run vehicles, the proposal said.
South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) has committed Tk 8.29 billion in concessional financing for the project, while the government will provide the remaining Tk 3.05 billion.
In addition to initial delays in appointing the project director and recruiting consultants, the project encountered repeated setbacks during the tender process, the proposal revealed.
The initial tender documents were submitted to the Exim Bank of Korea in November 2024, but required multiple revisions after nine comments were raised. Final approval of the bidding documents was granted on November 20, 2025, and tender notices were published last month.
Due to sluggish implementation, the Planning Commission has proposed a massive 99.21 per cent cut in the project's allocation for the current fiscal year.
Although the project was allocated Tk 7.81 billion under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) with the aim of completing it in the current fiscal year, the Planning Commission has proposed allocating only Tk 61.3 million, cutting Tk 7.75 billion.
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