Corruption in infrastructure projects
Thursday, 29 November 2012
The update on last Saturday's incident in the port city of Chittagong -- the collapse of three girders of the 1.4-kilometer under-construction Bahaddarhat flyover at Khawja Road -- lays bare how human-fault in executing physical infrastructure projects can lead to a tragedy. Media reports have shed light on the incompetence, inexperience and deliberate fault on the part of the construction firm that was awarded the contract for the construction of the flyover, allegedly on grounds of having strong political connections with the powers-that-be. Faulty construction work by the concerned firm, allegedly again in connivance with the high-ups of the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), has been the singular reason for the collapse of two girders of the flyover. The incident was the second one of its kind involving the same flyover. In the midst of a greater tragedy around the same time involving a garments factory at Nishchintapur in Ashulia, Savar in which over 110 workers were killed in a devastating blaze, the incident at Bahaddarhat in Chittagong has so far drawn less attention of the people outside the port city.
The latest incident in Chittagong can not, however, be attributed to any conspiracy or sabotage by any stretch of imagination. Such an incident happened there before, too, and for the same reason. The experts, engineers (outside the domain of the CDA, of course) and the civil society in Chittagong have, in unison, identified the 'faulty construction' work for the latest incident there. Indeed, the whole gamut of issues, beginning from the award of the contract to the on-going phase of its construction work, smacks of cronyism or the 'spoils system'. Formalities about the award of the contract for this Taka 1.06-billion (106 crore) project might have been 'doctored' or managed in order to make it appear as having been done in conformity with the standard requirements. But the bona fides of the construction firm, for all practical purposes, remain suspect on a variety of factors. The question has also been raised as to why the CDA took up this costly project, reportedly outside the ambit of the CDA’s original Master Plan, in such a haste. Was it, at all, any priority project in the present context of the resource-availability situation? Or was it undertaken as part of any political agenda, ignoring its economic rationale under the given circumstances? The under-construction flyover project is otherwise due for completion by February next year. An amount of Taka 800 million (80 crore) has already been spent and its future now remains uncertain after the latest collapse of its three more girders.
Against this backdrop, it is of utmost urgency at this stage to probe into the whole aspect of things into the construction of the Bahaddarhat flyover by an independent committee of experts. The findings of a detailed report by such a committee will be immensely useful, now that the government is about to start the construction works of a number of such large projects like the proposed Malibagh-Maghbazar flyover in the capital city. Every effort needs to be made to avoid man-made faults, deliberate or not, in large infrastructure projects involving a huge amount of public money.
Here the latest words from the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACCA), in what is a retraction from the earlier stance of this anti-graft body, about getting some clues to the Padma bridge 'corruption conspiracy' in the pre-selection process for its consultant, serve as a reminder to what extent rent-seekers or graft-takers can go in managing things about public contracts, particularly relating to infrastructure projects. If graft issue is not effectively dealt with, the quality of infrastructure projects will always tend to be compromised to benefit the corrupt elements at public expense.
The latest incident in Chittagong can not, however, be attributed to any conspiracy or sabotage by any stretch of imagination. Such an incident happened there before, too, and for the same reason. The experts, engineers (outside the domain of the CDA, of course) and the civil society in Chittagong have, in unison, identified the 'faulty construction' work for the latest incident there. Indeed, the whole gamut of issues, beginning from the award of the contract to the on-going phase of its construction work, smacks of cronyism or the 'spoils system'. Formalities about the award of the contract for this Taka 1.06-billion (106 crore) project might have been 'doctored' or managed in order to make it appear as having been done in conformity with the standard requirements. But the bona fides of the construction firm, for all practical purposes, remain suspect on a variety of factors. The question has also been raised as to why the CDA took up this costly project, reportedly outside the ambit of the CDA’s original Master Plan, in such a haste. Was it, at all, any priority project in the present context of the resource-availability situation? Or was it undertaken as part of any political agenda, ignoring its economic rationale under the given circumstances? The under-construction flyover project is otherwise due for completion by February next year. An amount of Taka 800 million (80 crore) has already been spent and its future now remains uncertain after the latest collapse of its three more girders.
Against this backdrop, it is of utmost urgency at this stage to probe into the whole aspect of things into the construction of the Bahaddarhat flyover by an independent committee of experts. The findings of a detailed report by such a committee will be immensely useful, now that the government is about to start the construction works of a number of such large projects like the proposed Malibagh-Maghbazar flyover in the capital city. Every effort needs to be made to avoid man-made faults, deliberate or not, in large infrastructure projects involving a huge amount of public money.
Here the latest words from the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACCA), in what is a retraction from the earlier stance of this anti-graft body, about getting some clues to the Padma bridge 'corruption conspiracy' in the pre-selection process for its consultant, serve as a reminder to what extent rent-seekers or graft-takers can go in managing things about public contracts, particularly relating to infrastructure projects. If graft issue is not effectively dealt with, the quality of infrastructure projects will always tend to be compromised to benefit the corrupt elements at public expense.