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The cost of an ongoing project initiated during the ousted Awami League government to develop mini stadiums in different upazilas is set to jump by over 73 per cent.
The project's first revision proposal, submitted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports last year, is scheduled to be placed at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) tomorrow for final approval.
Planning Commission officials said the Sheikh Russel Mini Stadium Construction project, named after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's younger brother, was approved in July 2021 with an estimated cost of Tk 16.49 billion.
Following 45.48 per cent financial progress within the deadline of June this year, the youth and sports ministry proposed a two-year extension with a revised cost of Tk 28.56 billion.
Along with removing Sheikh Russel's name, the project cost is set to increase by Tk 12.06 billion, said Planning Commission officials.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports said the project aims to develop sports infrastructure at the upazila level to host competitions and provide training for athletes.
The proposal said upgrading the fields for upazila- and regional-level competitions and scouting talent at the grassroots level to produce skilled players are among the project's key objectives.
Planning Commission officials flagged excessive cost estimates across several components of the project.
"Initially planned for 186 upazilas, the project has been revised to cover 201 after dropping some areas due to various complexities and also adding new ones," said an official.
A 73.13 per cent cost surge in response to only 8.06 per cent increase in the number of stadiums under construction is abnormally high, he added.
An analysis reveals that the average cost of developing each mini stadium has jumped from Tk 88.67 million to Tk 142.06 million.
According to an Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) report, under an earlier project, 131 mini stadiums were built between July 2016 and June 2019 at a total cost of Tk 667.86 million, each costing Tk 5.1 million on average.
Compared to that, per unit cost in the ongoing project has risen around 28 times.
Citing factors such as land acquisition, land filling, depreciation of the taka against the US dollar, land-related disputes, and changes in the schedule of rates, the ministry submitted the first revision proposal in February last year, revising the cost upwards to Tk 26.77 billion, documents revealed.
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