FE Report
Adviser for Road Transport and Bridges Ministry Faizul Kabir Khan has directed all concerned to complete the much-talked-about work on bus rapid transit (BRT) by December although project insiders' perception was negative.
Sources said the project of the 16 km road widening work and elevated structure has almost been completed. But they were doubtful about completing the rest of the work by December due to the delay the project saw during the last two months.
They said two Chinese contractors have left the country soon after Sheikh Hasina regime’s ouster on August 5. It will take time to repair and procure materials and equipment damaged by the mob during the quota reform movement.
The Adviser, however, gave the direction during an opinion exchange meeting held after visiting the project sites on Saturday.
Work on the BRT, a bus-based mass transit corridor, began after the development project proposal was approved in 2012 with the target to carry 30,000 passengers between Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and Gazipur per hour.
The initiative taken under Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project (GDSUTP), however, faced innumerable problems due to wrong feasibility study, faulty design, planning, selection of contractors, engagement of multi agencies without coordination etc..
The problems which agencies continued to face one after another since the work began in 2016 led to missed deadlines several times. So it raised project cost to Tk 42.68 billion from Tk 20.38 billion in 2018 and also caused time escalation to December 2024.
Project insiders said as bus procurement work for the 20 kilomrete corridor would not be completed by 2026, rest of the civil work and finising work might continue.
They, however, said people of contractors have already started arriving in the country and assessing the cost and state of damaged materials.
As focus of the interim government is not to allow project time and cost increase in any development project, sources said, the cost to be increased has to be managed within the existing budget by the contractors.
It is learnt that the Chinese contractors which got the work on the road and elevated part of the corridor quoting the cost much below the tender amount have already claimed Tk 900 million from the project office.
During the visit of Adviser Faizul Kabir, RTHD secretary Ehsanul Haque, BUET Professor M Shamsul Hoque and French Ambassador Marie Masdupuy were present.
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