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The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is set to spend Tk 49.64 billion on rehabilitating 5,180 kilometres of severely damaged, dilapidated, and non-motorable rural roads, along with 7,000 metres of damaged bridges and culverts, over the next four years.
A Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting of the Planning Commission has agreed to place the project, proposed by the Local Government Division (LGD), before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval, subject to compliance with a set of observations and recommendations.
Sources at the planning ministry say the LGD initially proposed the project last year, but the then planning adviser, Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, reportedly withheld the scheme's approval, citing concerns over its large size and nationwide scope.
While the interim government suggested dividing the project into regional schemes, if necessary, the BNP-led government, after taking office following the national elections, decided to implement it by re-prioritising components in the public interest, a senior official at the Planning Commission says.
The project titled "Rural Road Rehabilitation and Strengthening" is proposed to be implemented from January this year to June 2030.
However, the meeting recommended revising the implementation period to start from July as around six months of the originally proposed time frame had already elapsed.
According to the minutes of the PEC meeting, the project aims to rehabilitate around 5,180 kilometres of severely damaged rural roads, along with 7,000 metres of damaged bridges and culverts.
The intervention is expected to strengthen rural connectivity with growth centres, markets, and service institutions, thereby improving mobility, agricultural marketing, and rural livelihoods.
Officials from LGED informed the committee that Bangladesh has a vast rural road network of about 353,332 kilometres, of which 116,419 kilometres are paved.
Each year, LGED implements multiple development projects, adding over 4,000 kilometres of roads and 15,000 metres of bridges and culverts, further expanding the national rural transport network.
The PEC was also informed that around 30,000 kilometres of rural roads were currently in severely damaged condition, due to which the proposed interventions had been prioritised. Md Mahamudul Hossain Khan, member (senior secretary) of the Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division under the Planning Commission, chaired the PEC meeting.
He said the project's area-wise cost distribution did not fully comply with the government's development project formulation guidelines, particularly provisions related to equitable regional allocation.
Khan stressed ensuring a balanced distribution of project benefits to reduce regional disparity.
Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) officials raised concerns over potential duplication, noting that LGED was already implementing multiple similar rural road rehabilitation projects.
The PEC directed the implementing agency to avoid overlaps and ensure proper certification that project components would not duplicate the ongoing interventions.
The committee also recommended LGED rationalise expenditures across multiple non-core components, including administrative costs, equipment procurement, consultancy, and other operational heads.
Savings from cost reductions are expected to be redirected towards physical infrastructure works to enhance project output.
In addition, the PEC emphasised strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act and Rules in all procurement activities.
The representative of the General Economics Division underscored the need for a robust exit and maintenance plan to ensure sustainability of the newly constructed infrastructure after project completion.
The meeting also asked the LGD and LGED to revise the Development Project Proposal, incorporating all observations and resubmitting it through the prescribed system for final approval.
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