Political troubles impede execution of dev projects

A marathon countrywide blockade has slowed down development works in the country for the disruption caused to transportation of construction materials.
The problem has given rise to concern among the policymakers about achieving the ADP-implementation target.
Sources said the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) are already lagging behind their respective targeted progress in many of their projects under the current annual development programme (ADP).
For an instance, they added, the Dhaka-Chittagong and the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway four-lane projects could not make due progress in the current month.
"We are gripped by tension as we have already lost an important month of the construction season due to continuous blockade and hartal programmes," said a senior official of the RHD -- one of the key agencies for implementing public-works projects.
He mentioned that it was hard to convince drivers to carry raw materials from different parts of the country to the construction sites as they were afraid of attacks and acts of arson.
RHD and LGED officials said initially they had tried to keep the construction works on with the support of the law-enforcing agencies but it could not be managed uninterrupted.
Projects under the two agencies get October-February period as peak time to construct roads, highways and bridges.
The contractors usually go full-steam ahead with work from January and continue until April to meet their annual targets of implementation.
RHD sources said most of the projects in the department's 10 zonal areas were affected as only eight percent progress could be made against monthly average going of 12 per cent.
The Dhaka-Chittagong and Joydevpur-Mymensingh four-lane projects, already affected following the political disturbance in 2013, could also make single-digit progress against the monthly target of 20 per cent with the two important highway-expansion projects being in the last stages of implementation.
The projects were supposed to be completed this year, after having missed targets of implementation several times in the past with the project-cost overruns by almost 50 per cent.
"We have so far made progress above the average, but we are now in panic," said another official with the experience of the ongoing unrest situation.
Sources said activists attacked some trucks and camps of the four-lane projects and the adversity scared the project contractors about bringing in construction materials.
LGED sources said as tendering 90 per cent of the LGED projects under the ADP had been completed, majority of the projects are likely to be hit due to the ongoing political disturbance.
Malibagh-Maghbazar flyover, which is also being implemented by LGED in the city, also faced problems of slow implementation due to short supply of raw materials and apprehension of arson attack.
Sources said apart from ensuring supply of the construction materials, the project office has to make ready fire extinguisher, water tank to avert any kind of untoward situation due to the ongoing political agitation over the issue of January 5, 2014 general election.  
Sources said supply of bitumen, coal and brick needed for the zila, upazila and rural roads was badly affected in their ongoing 80 projects, for which LGED is afraid to fail to meet the ADP targets.
"We could make 45 to 50 per cent progress in the ongoing 80 projects until January -- much lower because of the blockade programme," said an LGED official
He said they could not manage supply of the construction materials even after offering truck drivers double fares.
In the ADP, around Tk 100 billion is allocated for the LGED to construct roads, bridges and culverts at zila and upazila levels. The RHD is responsible for big and expensive projects to construct national and regional highways for which around Tk 50 billion was allocated in the current fiscal year (2014-15).  
Around 28 percent of the ADP targets have so far been achieved. Sources said the two four-lane projects have been affected as stone supply from Sylhet area was disrupted.  
Economist Zahid Hussain said impact of the ongoing political impasse is likely to hit the mass people and government expenditure for disruption of raw materials and labour mobility.
As people could not see end to this situation, he predicts an adverse impact of the impasse on the future work plan.
"Budget deficit is more desirable for the country than surplus budget which occurs for expending less in the ADP due to slow progress of development projects," said Mr Zahid, also the World Bank lead economist.
However, another RHD official engaged in the maintenance and supervision work said work loss so far faced in different projects could be overcome if situation turns normal now.
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