The condition of the country's road network is likely to get worse this year due to multiple complications over starting the periodical and regular maintenance (PRM) works amid unusual rains and delays in contractor selection.
Officials say the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has already demanded Tk 30 billion, up from the allotted Tk 25 billion, to carry out PRM works on 1,500 kilometres of roads.
The condition of national and regional highways, as well as district roads, was assessed from November 2024 to May this year.
The roads that saw their condition deteriorate during this rainy season and due to stalled projects were not included in the demand.
The Dhaka-Sylhet highway remains in a worse condition due to the very bad state of the Ashuganj-Sarail section.
The Indian Line of Credit was withdrawn after keeping the project stalled for the last one and a half years.
Sources say the RHD has already decided to initiate fresh tenders for its PRM works to comply with the new Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2025.
In some 50 tenders called for various PRM works, many contractors who have been debarred by the RHD since 2024 participated, they add.
The RHD debarred 77 contractors on allegations of syndication and submitting false documents to secure road construction works during the last 12 to 15 years.
Of them, 67 have already got stay orders from the court this year. Some of them were selected in line with the previous PPR.
RHD Additional Chief Engineer Mohammad Muniruzzaman says as the new PPR has removed the scope for one-sided participation of any contractor, fresh tendering may help resolve the problem of syndication, and capacity can be proved.
But he admits that finalising contractor selection will need more time to tap into the dry season, though 80 per cent of PRM works is done between October and March-April.
The RHD's Highway Development and Maintenance circle identified a total of 1,557 kilometres of roads in poor and bad condition after surveying almost 22,000 kilometres during November-May.
It also assessed fund requirements of Tk 69 billion to carry out works on these roads, against which Tk 26 billion was allotted in the fiscal budget.
RHD Chief Engineer Syed Moinul Hasan says the department cannot spend PRM funds on any project due to audit objections and does not have options to take emergency steps either due to the lengthy procedure of project and fund approval.
"The RHD cannot take funds from other related funds and does not have the authority to approve any emergency fund on its own either," he has told The Financial Express at his office when his attention has been drawn to the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.
According to the rule, the RHD has the authority to spend Tk 80 million but needs approval from the Road Transport and Highways Division for works involving up to Tk 1.0 billion, which is time-consuming while following project formulation procedures.
"We have given the responsibility, but not the power," Mr Hasan says, explaining that when a fire breaks out in a building, the first step is to use fire extinguishers and then call the fire service, which does not happen in RHD.
PRM works include patching potholes and cleaning drains (routine) and resurfacing or re-carpeting (periodic) to reduce deterioration, improve safety, and minimise the need for costly reconstruction.
smunima@yahoo.com
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