Munima Sultana
Road and rail transport development has made little headway during the interim government's tenure, as reluctance to approve new or high-cost projects has slowed infrastructure expansion.
Even relatively low-cost initiatives such as bus route rationalisation (BRR) and bus rapid transit (BRT) have failed to advance, raising concerns among sector analysts about policy paralysis and misplaced priorities.
Analysts say excessive caution, bureaucratic inertia and an aversion to risk have undermined both reform-oriented and safety-related initiatives.
As a result, persistent problems, from disorderly urban bus services to rising road accidents, remain largely unaddressed, despite their modest fiscal requirements.
Sector analysts say these projects were deprioritised in favour of political economy considerations, despite their potential importance for urban mobility.
There has been little improvement in areas such as road safety and road and bridge maintenance during the period. Although the costs involved are relatively modest, road accidents continued to rise, while illegal vehicles increasingly dominated the roads.
The unchecked spread of unregulated, battery-operated three-wheelers further compounded traffic chaos.
Officials at the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Bangladesh Railway (BR) alleged that much of the period was effectively lost, as agencies were not permitted to initiate realistic new projects and did not receive timely decisions on ongoing ones to resolve operational bottlenecks.
The BRT and BRR projects were effectively shelved due to delays in revising their Development Project Proposals (DPPs) and prolonged procedural indecision.
"The project costs might have appeared high, but compared with mega projects costing Tk 100 billion or Tk 200 billion, they were relatively small. Their importance was ignored," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Planning Commission did not approve an extension of the BRR project timeline, citing poor progress over the past four years.
This decision effectively abandoned nearly eight years of effort aimed at bringing discipline to city bus services. Related studies and the formulation of necessary laws have also stalled.
Since the interim government was formed following the fall of the Awami League administration, no visible progress has been made on any of the four metro rail projects currently under implementation.
As the government shifted its focus away from mega-project expansion towards cost-cutting, accountability and operational efficiency, it adopted what it described as "corrective" measures to curb corruption and reduce the heavy debt burden inherited from the previous administration.
Bangladesh Railway reportedly saved more than Tk 85 billion by scaling back or adjusting certain projects towards the end of the tenure. It also altered train routes using the Padma Rail Link, citing an inability to improve the supply of locomotives and coaches.
Budgets allocated for Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Lines 1 and 5 (North) were returned due to complications in contractor selection and financing arrangements.
Although restrooms for drivers were constructed under road safety initiatives, many remain non-operational.
These facilities were intended to help reduce road accidents, but their continued inactivity has raised questions about the seriousness and follow-through of the government agencies concerned.
smunima@yahoo.com
