Ecnec okays 18 projects, half of them are revised with cost overruns

The trend of revisions in ongoing development projects has increased towards the end of the current financial year.

Out of the total 18 projects, involving around Tk11,388 crore, approved at the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting held at the NEC conference room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Tuesday, the costs of nine projects have been revised. 

Out of the nine projects, six have already undergone cost revision one or more times.

The original cost of the nine revised projects was around Tk9,308 crore, which now increased to around Tk23,978 crore.

After the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan and members of the Planning Commission briefed the media about these projects.

The cost of the Chattogram City Outer Ring Road project has been increased for the fourth time. The project, which started in 2011, had an initial outlay of Tk856 crore. In the fourth revision, the cost has been increased to Tk3,324 crore.

Implementation of the project began in July 2012 to introduce faster, safer and more comfortable passenger and freight trains to the capital Dhaka.

The initial cost of this project is Tk848 crore. In the first revised proposal in 2016, the cost of the project was increased to Tk1,107 crore. 

Officials of the Planning Commission said the project was undertaken without any feasibility study and detailed design. Later, a number of major changes had to be made in the implementation stage, which drove up the cost

Meanwhile, the cost of the Ashrayan 2 project has been reduced in the fifth revision, despite the increase in the cost four times earlier. Initially, the cost of this project was Tk1,169 crore. After this, the expenditure was increased to Tk11,143 crore in the fourth revised proposal.

In the fifth revised proposal, the expenditure has been reduced by Tk2343 crore due to a reduction in the number of paved barracks in coastal cyclone-prone areas.

In a press conference, Planning Division Secretary Satyajit Karmaker said, "Depending on situations, projects have to be modified in the middle of the implementation stage. It is a routine work of the Planning Commission."

Former secretary of the Planning Division Md Mamun-Al-Rashid told The Business Standard, "Due to a lack of proper survey and design, projects have to be revised with cost increase. Sometimes, the implementing agencies add new parts in the middle of the project. Besides, the project cost goes up when the costs of various materials increase."

Among the revised projects in Tuesday's Ecnec meeting are, the construction of Patuakhli Medical College and Hospital, Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project, Satkhira Road and City Road Development, Telecommunication and ICT infrastructure of DGFI, human resource and technical capacity development, and National Development Administration Academy establishment project.