Construction cost increases by 86pc

Cost of constructing 30-kilometre flood embankment-cum-road (Eastern Bypass) has increased by 86 per cent to Tk 112.77 billion from Tk 600 million earmarked earlier, officials said.
Water Development Board (WDB) sources said the government has included the Eastern Bypass project with Dhaka Circular Road project and has also renamed it as Dhaka Circular Road Phase-1.
The project's concept was initiated in the year 1990 after a severe flood submerged Dhaka.
And since then the preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) was prepared several times but no financing agency came up to bear the costs until today.
The government, feeling the project's importance, included it in the top priority category during the Prime Minister's visit to Japan last year.
WDB senior official Engr Sydur Rahman said the Circular Road Phase-1 (Eastern Bypass) project renaming took place at a meeting in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
He said as per the government's Dhaka master plan project, the circular road project has been divided into two parts (Phase-1 and Phase-2) and the embankment-cum-road would be built first under Phase-1.
The circular road phase-1 project director Md Abdur Razzak said, "We have increased cost of the preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) due to price rise of land and construction materials."
Mohammad Jilani, a senior WDB official, said Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has shown their interest to finance the project and they are already studying it.
He said the new PDPP has already been submitted to the PMO, Economic Relations Division and to the Planning Commission.
He said in the new estimation more than 70 per cent costs have been allocated for land purchase and acquisition.
Senior programme officer of the JICA Anisuzzaman Chowdhury said, "We are already studying the project and there is a problem in financing it as our agency usually does not finance in land purchasing."
He said as the major costs are estimated for purchasing lands; so it is unlikely that JICA would finance it.
He said JICA in its worldwide policy does not finance in land purchasing and it did not do so in Bangladesh till today.
He said the problem has already been discussed at a meeting in the PMO and the official said they may change the existing project planning by including restoration of the four rivers surrounding Dhaka.
According to sources, the new Tk 112.77 billion PDPP was made and submitted after one year of submission of the Tk 600 million PDPP in the year 2013.
He said though the project did not get boost over the last two decades as the project is on top of agenda of the PMO, so there might be some positive progress now.
According to sources, the former Eastern Bypass project includes pump stations, flood wall, internal link, canal improvement with walkways, bank protection, canal improvement, resettlement, retention ponds, upgrading Faidabad to Rajabari Ghat road and some others.
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