RHD wants fifth time extension for highway widening project after eight years

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has sought one and a half years more time to widen a 70-km highway, as more than eight years is not enough for the agency to do the job, insiders said on Friday.

The long delay has not only deprived people to use the road in time, but it has also swelled the project cost by more than double (122 per cent) than the original estimation, they added.

The RHD has recently sought revision of the SASEC-I: Joydebpur-Elenga road widening project for the fifth time, seeking one and a half years more time from the latest completion schedule in June 2021.

Earlier, the government revised the project four times following failure of the state-owned road developer to complete the construction work.

Three lenders - the Asian Development Bank (ADB), OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (AFD) - are involved with the project as co-financers.

A senior official of the Planning Commission (PC) said the RHD recently sought revision of the project for the fifth time from the commission after the failure of completing the 70-km Joydebpur-Elenga highway widening work.

"We are scrutinising the RHD's revised proposal. If we find its justification, we will approve it with necessary recommendations," said the PC official.

He opined that the project had already been delayed for years, which was unexpected.

The RHD, with the financial support of the government, ADB, OFID and AFD, started widening of Joydebpur-Elenga highway into a four-lane one with lanes for slow-moving vehicles on its both sides in a bid to connect north and western Bangladesh with the central part (Dhaka).

The highway would also establish cross-border connection with India, and increase regional connectivity with other South Asian nations.

The RHD undertook the project in March 2013 at Tk 27.88 billion cost with an aim of completing the road development work within five years (March 2018).

Failing to complete the work at the original cost, the government revised the project for the first time, extending its cost by Tk 2.78 billion to Tk 30.67 billion without enhancing the deadline.

The RHD failed again, and the government allowed a 'special revision', extending the cost to Tk 33.65 billion, but kept the project completion schedule same (March 2018).

The RHD failed that time too and had got another revision (second revision) with both time and cost extension. The government increased the project cost to Tk 55.93 billion and the completion schedule to June 2020.

But the RHD became unsuccessful again. The government awarded yet another 'special revision' to the project, extending the cost to Tk 62.14 billion and the time to June 2021.

However, the entire time period of eight years and three months was not enough for the RHD to complete the road widening work.

So, this time the agency has sought fifth revision and extension of one and a half years more time to December 2022 from the PC for completing the project.

It has cut the project cost by a marginal amount of Tk 184.1 million to Tk 62.14 billion in its proposal.

When asked, a RHD official replied that their work had been delayed due to spells of lockdown in early last year and this year for the Covid pandemic.

"Our construction work has almost finished. The remaining work will be completed within this year."

"But we are keeping another year in our hand as the defect liability period of the project. During this period, the contractors will be liable for any defect of their construction work," he added.

A member at the PC told the FE that the government had invested millions of dollars for training up its manpower during the last 50 years, but their capacities were still in a deplorable level.

When a 70-km road widening work required nearly 10 years to complete, how the country would get financial and economic return from the project, the PC member questioned.

"We give reminders to the project implementing agencies several times every year, but the outcome is dissatisfactory. The agencies should be more proactive in completing their projects by ensuring quality of implementation," he added.

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