Need for better infrastructure  

Prospective investors have time and again sought reliable, sustainable and affordable infrastructure in Bangladesh and for investment of their money in industries profitably. Even development partners, grouped under the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF), which held a two-day meeting in Dhaka recently, highlighted such a need. Leaders of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) also the other day met the planning minister and called for arranging for $320 billion by 2030 for building infrastructure.

The DCCI also recommended formation of a high-powered authority titled 'National Infrastructure Development and Monitoring Advisory Authority' to accelerate implementation of mega infrastructure projects. The DCCI president placed a list of Key Areas of Priority (KAP) and said decentralisation of Dhaka, multi-modal transportation with priority for rail and river transportation, development of Dhaka-Chittagong economic corridor, strengthening of energy and power sector, increased private infrastructure investment and development of skilled manpower should be under the KAP.

"Big infrastructures like flyovers, roads, highways and ports are badly needed for facilitating investment. But implementation of such important projects has been experiencing unusual delay. So, we want a strong monitoring to detect their problems," he said. The DCCI president suggested the government to include the presidents of leading chambers like the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), DCCI, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) in its monitoring team. Urging the government to focus on infrastructure development and ensure adequate energy supply, he said the government should take initiatives to explore the country's natural gas and coal for addressing the energy needs. He said the government has taken an initiative to import LNG but it will enhance the production cost of industries affecting the competitiveness. "Cheap labour and low-price gas are our main advantages," he said.

The private investment scene is in fact frustrating. The cost of doing business is too high in the country. That's why private investors are not showing much interest to invest. The government can share the experience of Malaysia, China and Vietnam in fund mobilisation for development of infrastructure projects. In fact, Bangladesh cannot be competitive with its existing outdated infrastructure. Investors are competitive within their factories, but beyond the factories, these are uncompetitive. Infrastructure is the biggest bottleneck. Bangladesh needs to improve its outdated infrastructure with some projects that must be completed on a priority basis, as buyers will not wait too long for the situation to improve. If the country fails, it will only fail because of poor infrastructure.

Upgrading the Chittagong-Dhaka economic corridor and improvement in traffic in Dhaka and the country's river and railway systems must get top priority. The private sector invests little in the country's infrastructure with their reluctance mainly stemming from the prevalence of corruption and a lack of governance. Other factors include high project costs, implementation delays and slow returns. Infrastructure development projects are implemented very slowly. The government will have to act properly to improve its project development process.

Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, a well-known expert on infrastructure, said Bangladesh is progressing in terms of infrastructure. "But perhaps the progress could have been faster and better-managed." He said there is weakness in implementation agencies. Many who have become project directors do not have the relevant educational qualifications.

The professor recommended establishing a special cadre on project management. Project managers should be groomed to handle the mega projects and trained on contractual aspects, negotiation skills and financing, he said. They should be given training for a year or two so they can run the mega projects in the pipeline. Prof Jamilur said the culture of maintenance is lacking in Bangladesh.  He said he had some opportunities to witness decision-making at the top level. "Some of the major decisions are taken without much thought."

Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh said infrastructure deficiency in Bangladesh is serious and widespread. He said Bangladesh needs to spend $20-30 billion a year on infrastructure development. Now it spends only $8 billion. "We have to get value for money. That is a major issue given the governance situation in Bangladesh," he said.

The railway on the Padma Bridge is a Tk 400-billion project, which is costlier than the bridge itself. "How many trains need to run on the lines a day to make that investment worthwhile? Is there any analysis of that? No," said the economist.

Many infrastructure projects remain ineffective because of poor planning and lack of feasibility studies. The government has built several flyovers in the city but these are contributing very little to solving the unbearable traffic jam. Before searching for the financing, the issues holding it back should be addressed.

As Bangladesh is going for some mega infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars, their management is becoming ever more important for ensuring the maximum benefit for Bangladesh.

Most of the projects are complex using modern technology and involving complicated financial arrangements. But Bangladesh lacks expertise in each of these areas.

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