We are all about building infrastructure. But what about maintenance?

A bridge without a road or a road to nowhere — Bangladesh has seen it all. 

Infrastructure has long been deemed as the hallmark of development. Globally, roads, bridges, hospitals, and academic institutions are built to serve public needs and drive economic growth. However, in Bangladesh, the reality is often different.  

Many government-funded infrastructure projects remain underutilised or fall into disrepair due to poor planning, lack of maintenance and insufficient manpower. As a result, large sums of public money are spent on these facilities that do not even end up serving the people. 

During the Awami League regime, for the last one and a half decade, a defining characteristic of Bangladesh's development model has been the construction of infrastructure without adequate planning, feasibility studies or inter-agency coordination. 

While such projects create employment during their construction phase and benefit certain groups involved in procurement and contracting, the lack of proper operational support means these buildings and facilities do not function effectively. 

The consequences are not just financial but also impact public services, depriving people of essential facilities that should have improved their lives.

According to media reports, the ousted regime had built 15 Institutes of Health Technology (IHTs) across 14 districts over six years. These institutions were designed to train medical technologists, featuring multi-storey academic buildings, dormitories for students and trainers, and official residences. The total expenditure for these projects amounts to approximately Tk525 crore, with each institution costing around Tk35 crore.

Yet, despite this significant investment, the IHTs have long been failing to serve their purpose. The primary reason is the absence of trained personnel and necessary equipment. Without instructors, staff and educational materials, these institutions cannot function as intended. 

In some cases, even the basic administrative staff required to run the institutions have not been appointed. As a result, students who had enrolled with high expectations now find themselves in institutions that exist more on paper than in reality.

Another such example is the Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project, initiated by the Bangladeshi government with World Bank support, to tackle urban air pollution by addressing major contributors like brick kilns and vehicular emissions. Despite installing 26 air quality monitoring stations nationwide, the project's effectiveness has been questioned. 

The construction of Union Parishad buildings across the country and Dhaka Zila Parishad 20-storey building construction project on Johnson Road are also examples of such projects that never bore any fruit.

The issue extends far beyond the aforementioned projects. Many government-built structures — hospitals, office buildings and even bridges — have ended up being abandoned or poorly maintained. This pattern stems from a flawed perception that equates physical construction with development while neglecting the operational aspects that make infrastructure effective.

According to economist Towfiqul Islam Khan, a research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), there are three major concerns when it comes to infrastructure development in Bangladesh.

He said that any infrastructure requires regular maintenance. Whether it is a road, a bridge or a building, ongoing upkeep is essential. Without it, the structures deteriorate quickly, leading to increased costs in the long run. While the government allocates a maintenance budget, these funds are often inadequate.

There are additional associated costs beyond construction. For instance, building a hospital is just one part of the process; ensuring cleanliness, hiring medical staff and acquiring essential equipment are equally critical. However, in many cases, these supporting expenditures are not planned for, resulting in dysfunctional facilities. 

Khan highlights that over the past decade, successive governments have pursued large-scale infrastructure projects with little regard for their operational sustainability. 

"One driving force behind this approach is corruption," he said.

Public funds are often directed towards extravagant purchases, such as unnecessarily expensive furniture for government offices, while basic necessities, such as maintenance staff, remain overlooked.

A simple example is the construction of public toilets across the country with high-end tiles and fixtures, yet no staff is assigned to clean them. Or even if assigned, the staff hardly do their jobs. This renders the facilities effectively unusable. 

The mentality that infrastructure itself signifies progress, while operational efficiency is ignored, exacerbates the problem.

Furthermore, feasibility studies in Bangladesh have long been compromised. The poor planning plays a critical role in the gross waste of public funds. 

Infrastructure that remains unused due to a lack of proper planning eventually degrades, requiring even greater expenditure for repairs. When institutions, roads or public buildings are not maintained, they become liabilities rather than assets. If the government does not allocate proper maintenance budgets and operational support from the outset, these projects will continue to fail.

In the new Bangladesh, what is important is that the old ghosts of 'development fetish' no longer waste public funds. Feasibility studies should not only assess the financial and engineering aspects of a project but also ensure provisions for long-term usability. 

This includes planning for staffing, operational budgets and maintenance. Infrastructure projects should be evaluated based on their impact on public services rather than merely their physical completion.

Without a strategic shift toward sustainability, we cannot continue wasting our public resources for white elephants.