Khulna-Mongla rail project is set to be costlier as half the work, including construction of a rail bridge over the Rupsha, is yet to be completed.
The project under Indian Line of Credit (LoC) is unlikely to meet the June 2018 deadline as it still faces different problems, including design confirmation and reappointment of a fresh supervising consultant.
Official records show overall progress in the work has reached 35.45 per cent since the construction began in 2016.
Only 7.76 per cent progress has been recorded in the 5.13-kilometre railway bridge and around 15 per cent in the installation of the 93-kilometre single-lane broad gauge railway track.
These are the two main components of the Tk 38.01-billion project taken in 2010 which was first revised in 2015.
Sources said Bangladesh Railway (BR) has already made a move to revise the DPP for extension of time up to February 2020.
The project was initially delayed for not getting Indian Exim Bank's approval timely and land acquisition-related problem, but the main reason behind the delay in the construction was a problem in design confirmation, they said.
The BR signed two contracts with two Indian companies in 2015 for 42 months each, but both jobs began in 2016.
The sources said the Indian contractor could not confirm the entire design of the bridge for its failure in doing load tests of 142 piers.
They said the contractor had to conduct detailed geotechnical and soil tests of almost all the piles of each pier and tried to fix the problems.
According to the changed design, the problematic piers would have seven piles against six with different levels of depth.
"Rupsha Railway Bridge faced problems similar to Padma Bridge project in the design confirmation. This led to the delay in starting the main work till the end of 2017," said a project official.
He, however, said construction of 20 per cent of the piers has already been done after resolving the problems.
Though BR has yet to finalise the increased construction cost, sources said, the project is likely to get a fresh supervising consultant as the existing Indian consulting firm CEG-NKI declined to work in the extended period without an increase in the contract money.
A high-powered meeting held under the Prime Minister's Office months ago also directed the BR to go for a fresh expression of interest to assign a new consultant for the project as the negotiation with the Indian firm failed.
The contract with the consultant who also worked as the design consultant of the project ends in June.
The BR undertook the project at an estimated cost of 17.21 billion, including $300 million Indian Line of Credit (LoC).
But the project cost was upped by 121 per cent to Tk 38.02 billion due to the delay and change in the route in 2015. The LoC was revised to $298.92 million in the 1st DPP.
The consultant proposed three routes in the first DPP, but the route through Rupsha Bridge was finalised after the revision following the PM's approval.
Though Bangladesh Railway officials claimed the project is now in good shape, the foreign aid part of the scheme is to be increased, sources said.
The additional funds of more than $60 million have been demanded from the 2nd LoC which was confirmed by the Indian side in different meetings, they added.
Larsen and Toubro Limited got the Tk 10.76 billion Rupsha railway bridge construction work and IRCON International Ltd. the Tk 11.49 billion work to construct embankment, track, all civil works, major and minor bridges and culverts.
There will be eight stations to connect Khulna and Mongla port.
The process of tender for the project's last component work to establish signalling system development is underway.
The rail project is expected to boost business in the region, including India, Nepal and Bhutan, through the country's second-largest Mongla seaport.
smunima@yahoo.com