Billions wasted in failed projects. Why do project planners walk free?

Highlights:

• 29 projects closed after Tk6,755 crore spent, work left unfinished
• Faulty planning, weak surveys, political choices blamed for massive waste
• Gazipur-Airport BRT flawed; demolition or modification extremely costly
• Payra seaport continues, but scale depends on economic dredging viability
• Space Observation Centre scrapped due to poor site and feasibility
• Experts blame politicians and bureaucracy; demand accountability and clear precedents

The interim government last fiscal year declared 29 projects closed after the projects had spent nearly Tk6,755 crore, leaving their work unfinished, according to a report by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED). The report said the waste stemmed from the previous government's faulty planning, inadequate surveys, and the political selection of low-priority projects.

As the list of wasteful projects continues to grow, several poorly planned projects, which are yet to be cancelled, have drawn intense public scrutiny.

One example is the Gazipur-Airport BRT corridor, where over Tk2,800 crore has already been spent and dismantling it could cost another Tk2,000 crore.

After a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on Monday, Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud told a conference the project had not been properly designed for a densely populated area.

He said operating a rapid transit by shutting down the entire central carriageway was unsuitable for the locality, a view now shared by most urban planners.

Wahiduddin said the money already spent could not be recovered, regardless of any future decision.

He added that demolishing the project entirely would cost about Tk2,000 crore, while keeping it as a fast lane would still require major infrastructure such as overpasses, underpasses and lifts.

In July last year, a proposal was made to raise the project cost by 54.57%, or Tk2,329 crore, taking the total to Tk6,597.32 crore. However, the NEC returned the proposal without approval.

Payra seaport

Another project taken up under the previous government and widely criticised for flawed planning is the Payra deep-sea port. The planning adviser previously described the project as a "development abscess" that must be carefully treated.

Referring to Payra at Monday's press conference, he said the government had decided to keep the port operational because two power plants were already running there and two more were on the way. He said there was also a special economic zone linked to the port.

However, he said it was essential to first determine how much dredging would be economically viable and whether Payra would ultimately function as a river port, a seaport, or something in between.

In that context, he did not approve proposals to build large residential blocks, customs buildings and other infrastructure all at once before the port's full capacity was properly assessed.

Space Observation Centre

Another project scrapped due to faulty planning was the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Space Observation Centre. After spending about Tk6.64 crore, the implementing agency, the National Museum of Science and Technology, declared the project cancelled in line with its revised proposal.

The project, taken up by the ousted Awami League government in Faridpur's Bhanga upazila, was plagued by poor site selection, weak planning and a superficial feasibility study.

The project was approved in 2021 with a budget of Tk213 crore, with the centre planned for Bhangardia village because of what was described as its unique geographical location.

It was claimed the site lay at the intersection of the Tropic of Cancer and the 90-degree east longitude, where the sun's rays fall vertically. However, officials of the implementing agency said the intersection point moves about 15 metres south every year.

Between 2020 and 2024, it shifted around 60 metres south and now lies close to the southern boundary of the land acquired for the project. They said the point would continue to move over time, gradually eroding the site's claimed significance.

They also said artificial lighting and high humidity at the selected location would limit the usefulness of telescope data from the observation tower for space research.

Can project planners avoid responsibility?

Key responsibility lies with the political leadership of the day for launching image-boosting or politically motivated projects that later prove wasteful or burdensome for the public purse.

However, people familiar with the project formulation process say those who plan projects are no less responsible.

In many cases, they shape decisions and push projects forward, resulting in a massive waste of public money, yet remain unaccountable while blame ultimately falls on political leaders.

In the case of the Gazipur-Airport BRT project, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and India's CEPT University warned of policy flaws and the risk of severe traffic congestion.

After two years of unsuccessful efforts to change the project's direction, consultants from both universities withdrew.

Buet Professor Shamsul Hoque, who worked as a consultant, told The Business Standard the BRT was essentially a "forced initiative" that lacked professional integrity.

He said the project suffered from policy-level errors and that both Buet and CEPT University tried for two years to convince the authorities the scheme would worsen congestion.

"Eventually, both institutions withdrew from the project," he said.

Prof Shamsul Hoque said bureaucrats had pushed the project through but were not held accountable for their mistakes. He warned that such errors could have serious consequences for the country's transport sector.

Bureaucracy comes under scrutiny

The role and influence of the bureaucracy in decision-making during the political government have come under renewed scrutiny during the tenure of the current non-political interim administration.

Civic leaders argue the interim government has failed to honour its commitment to key institutional reforms, with the bureaucracy playing a central role in that failure.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman bluntly said the interim government has "effectively surrendered to the bureaucracy".

At a media briefing last week, he said he could not explain why this surrender occurred, where the weaknesses lie, or how decisions are actually made within the government.

Speaking at another event, economist Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said disputed business figures fled and politicians from the previous regime went into hiding, but the bureaucracy has returned to prominence.

He said it has emerged as the "chief custodian" of the old system.

He added that the interim government has created the greatest opportunity for this bureaucratic resurgence, failing to protect citizens, demonstrate effective capacity, or deliver meaningful reform.

'Clear precedents only way out'

Experts say although feasibility studies are mandatory before approving projects, in Bangladesh they are often conducted only after the decision to implement has already been taken.

Over the past few years, development projects have been rushed through for approval.

One expert described this practice as "intellectual corruption". He said, "Feasibility studies are usually written in favour of the project. They rarely highlight the negative aspects."

Former Planning Division secretary Mamun-Al-Rashid said those who conduct flawed feasibility studies, those who draft projects on their basis, and those who approve them should all be brought under accountability.

He said the only way out is to set clear precedents. Until a culture of accountability is established, this pattern of wasting public money will not stop.

"The problem is not project cancellation. The real problem is taking up projects based on faulty planning and the fact that no one has ever been made to bear responsibility for it," he said.