More than a dozen major projects overspend lifespan, needing cure

Thirteen large development projects with an aggregate cost of Tk 924.76 billion have spent over five years against their approved lifespans, warranting a government review soon for remedies.

Official statistics show only one-third financial progress has been made in the projects although their entire sanctioned tenures have expired.

Out of the total estimated cost, ministries and divisions managed to spend Tk 308.29 billion, which accounts for only 33.34 per cent of the funds, according to the document of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED).

With an average 18 months now left after time extension to complete the schemes, requiring to spend Tk 616.46 billion, the IMED of the Planning Ministry has tagged these projects as 'Critical' and placed them under special monitoring for cure, officials said.

As part of its special monitoring, IMED recently hosted a meeting with project directors (PDs) of all 13 schemes to identify implementation bottlenecks and chart solutions to accelerate progress.

At the meeting, chaired by IMED Secretary Md Kamal Uddin, project directors reported 60 issues across 18 categories, with 19 of them or 32 per cent related to land acquisition, affecting eight of the projects, according to the meeting minutes.

To prevent such delays in future projects, the meeting recommended preparing separate land- acquisition initiatives before launching infrastructure schemes and producing high-quality feasibility -study reports "to accurately determine land requirements".

Also suggested is special IMED inspections and detailed reporting for some projects, expediting revision processes, correction to tender documents, where needed, and even cancelling a project, if deemed necessary.

"These projects were identified based on total estimated costs, progress against timelines, and their significance in key sectors," said IMED Secretary Md Kamal Uddin, adding that the meeting also recommended finding solution to the issues identified at the initial stage.

A high-level meeting, led by Planning Adviser of the interim government Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud and Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, will finalise detailed action plans with secretaries of the ministries concerned, senior officials of implementing agencies, project directors, and representatives from the Planning Commission and the Economic Relations Division (ERD), he added.

The list of critical projects includes three from the Power Division -- two in transmission and one in distribution. Two road projects -- the Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor and the Jhenidah-Jashore National Highway -- have also been identified for care.

From the Local Government Division, two projects are on the list -- the Rural Connectivity project in the Western Economic Corridor and the Re-excavation, Expansion, Renovation, and Development of Canals in Chattogram City.

Other critical projects include the Revitalization of the Ichamati River in Pabna, Navigability Improvement and Restoration of the Old Brahmaputra, Dharla, Tulai, and Punarbhaba Rivers, and Dredging at the Inner Bar of Mongla Port Channel.

The Ministry of Industries has two projects on the correction list: the Conversion of the Production Process of Chhatak Cement Company Limited from Wet to Dry Process and the Ghorashal-Palash Urea Fertilizer Project.

The meeting minutes revealed that a Tk 205.26-billion project to establish one Technical School and College in each of 329 upazilas was initiated in January 2020, aiming to bring 0.36 million rural students annually into vocational education, develop a skilled workforce, and meet labour demand both at home and abroad.

Originally scheduled to end in December 2024, the project's timeline has been extended by a year to December this year due to delays, but only Tk 1.06 billion, or 0.52 per cent of the allocation, had been spent as of last July.

The PD cited eight main causes for the slow progress, including insufficient land rates below DPP estimates, delays in obtaining environmental clearance, slow land- acquisition processes at district and upazila levels, and inadequate staffing.

The IMED urged tightening the monitoring of the project, expediting revision of the project to extend tenure and requested a list of upazilas where land- acquisition cases were resolved only after exceeding 120 days.

Officials said a Tk 169.19 -billion SASEC Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Road Improvement Project, scheduled to be concluded by December next year, has spent just Tk 32.61 billion, only 19.27 per cent, over the past four and a half years.

Project Directors have said slow progress is due to delays in land acquisition, utility relocation, site specific, design adjustments, and design revisions, with physical progress standing at only 15 per cent.

The meeting recommended speeding up land acquisition, adopting package-based tenders, submitting approval-related reports promptly, and holding regular Project Steering Committee (PSC) and Project Implementation Committee (PI) meetings, with strict adherence to their recommendations to accelerate implementation.

A review reveals 60 distinct implementation challenges, highlighting recurring bottlenecks that are slowing progress and affecting timely completion of key infrastructure and social- development schemes.

Land acquisition and related issues emerged as the most significant hurdle, impacting 8 projects, 62 per cent of total, including major initiatives in power, roads, rivers, ports, and Technical Schools and Colleges across upazilas.

Other frequent faced obstacles include design and technical issues, court cases and public resistance, and financial delays, each affecting roughly one-third of projects, indicating that recurring operational, legal, and administrative hurdles continue to stall project execution.

"Problems in land acquisition, design, and legal hurdles are longstanding challenges, and recommendations to address them have been repeatedly made," says Dr Zahid Hussain, former Lead Economist, World Bank Dhaka office.

He adds: "Most ADP projects face implementation hurdles, but given limited capacity, strict oversight for all projects is not feasible. So, priority should go to sectors that drive growth and public welfare."

With rising poverty in mind, ongoing health projects, especially in primary healthcare, should be fast-tracked, while new initiatives are approved to improve service delivery, he suggests.

In the power and energy sector, projects should be prioritized to boost investment and jobs, with inter-sectoral prioritization to maximize impact.

"Transmission and distribution projects need closer monitoring than generation, while LNG imports must continue to secure domestic energy supply."

jahid.rn@gmail.com