Building construction with WB loans, foreign trip, vehicle import proposed

The Department of Environment (DoE) has taken up a project to construct 38 office buildings with costly foreign loans.

Besides, the department with two other public agencies will send abroad 120 civil servants for training, in order to acquire knowledge on office building construction and environmental transformation.

In addition, the environment department will also purchase 82 vehicles and vessels to monitor the environmental issues in Bangladesh.

All these have been proposed in a Tk 38.37 billion ambitious project, titled 'Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST)', which has recently been submitted to the Planning Commission for approval.

The DoE, Bangladesh Bank (BB), Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) will jointly implement the project.

Of the Tk 38.37 billion proposed project, the implementing agencies aim to borrow Tk 26.30 billion from the World Bank (WB).

However, the Planning Commission raised several observations about the costs and components when it was scrutinising the project.

A senior official of the Commission, who did not wish to be named, said they had raised questions and observations at the last Project Evaluation Committee meeting, as the DoE and the three other project implementing agencies had incorporated some unnecessary and less priority components in the project.

"When the country is facing foreign exchange shortage, such kind of projects for building construction, foreign training and vehicle import are very much ambitious," he told the FE.

Meanwhile, the DoE has proposed setting up an endowment fund of Tk 4.87 billion at its Tk 38.37 billion cost development project proposal.

"It has not given details about the endowment fund. It is not clear from the proposal how it will be spent and who the beneficiaries will be," he said.

According to the proposal, the DoE will build some 38 office buildings across the country where it will procure 13.80 acres of land spending Tk 11.88 billion.

The DoE has proposed upgrading two divisional offices in Rajshahi and Khulna, and building three other divisional offices in Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rangpur, and thirty other district offices across the country.

The BRTA will send abroad its 70 staff to get training, spending Tk 70 million.

The DoE has also proposed training up 50 civil servants in foreign countries, spending Tk 100 million.

The environment department will also spend Tk 390.6 million for purchasing 63 vehicles for air quality monitoring, as per the proposal.

Besides, a good portion of money has been allocated for local training, seminars, recreation, entertainment, meeting honorariums, and workshops.

Contacted, DoE officials declined to make any comments.

While talking to the FE, another Planning Commission official said they were strictly maintaining the government rules and regulations when it comes to taking up fresh projects as the global economic scenario is volatile at this moment.

"We will scrutinise the project seriously... If we find it important, only then we will recommend the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for the approval," he said.

Meanwhile, an Economic Relations Division official said they had already got assurance from the WB to get the proposed loans for implementing the Tk 38.37 billion BEST project.

However, they will not go for final negotiations with the WB until the Planning Commission approves the project, he told the FE.

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