Work on Dhaka-M\\\'singh highway set to end by June

Work on construction of the Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane highway can be completed in June if the reduced costs in Contract 4 section are approved in time.
About 74 per cent of the work has, however, been completed till now.
The 87.18 kilometre four-lane improvement project was divided into four sections (Contracts 1, 2, 3 and 4).
The Armed Forces is working for Contracts 1 and 2, Project Builders Limited (PBL) for Contract 3 and the Toma Construction and Company Limited for contract 4.
According to sources, project variation has increased costs for Contract 3 and lowered it for Contract 4.
A Roads and Highways Department (RHD) official and four-lane project director, Hafizur Rahman, said project costs in Contract 4 have decreased by 1.4 per cent.
But the changes must be approved by the government's concerned department and if the approval is delayed, payments to the contractor will also be difficult, he said.
Mr Hafizur Rahman said, "To speed up construction works and complete it by June, we are trying to get approval so that delayed payments do not hamper progress."
PBL project manager Engr Showkat Hossain said, "Despite problems in carrying construction materials to the sites, work on our project over the last two months has been going on satisfactorily."
He said costs of the Contract 3 increased by Tk 100 million and it has already been approved by the authority.
He said, "With the existing progress, we will be able to complete it within June."
The RHD official said though there had been a delay in the Armed Forces starting work on 30.28-kilometre long highway under Contracts 1 and 2 due to some complexities, their progress is satisfactory.
The PBL is working on 29.6 kilometres under Contract-3 at a cost of Tk 2.96 billion.
The project implementing companies are currently enjoying extended time which was increased for the second time in the developmental project proposal.
The government took the four-lane improvement project to ease the existing vehicle pressure between Dhaka and Mymensingh.
Currently, the narrow two-lane is heavily burdened with increasing pressure of vehicles from Dhaka to northern districts.
Toma Construction and Company Limited managing director Ataur Rahman Bhuiya (Manik) said, "Due to project variation, the cost has been reduced by Tk 30 million."
He said unless the new lower cost is approved by the government, the company will be in trouble in continuing the progress.
He said already the company is getting delayed payments and if it is not approved soon, progress in work on Contract 4 would be slowed and "we may miss the deadline by June."
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