During the construction of a new railway line from Rajbari to Tungipara in Gopalganj and more than Tk 2000 crore were spent on renovation of the old line, it was said that 14 trains a day would run through this railway line. The then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated this new railway in November 2018. Now only two trains are running on this route.
Like Rajbari-Gopalganj, the eight railway lines built during the previous Awami League government from 2009 to 2024 are being used much less than their capacity.
The remaining seven railway lines are Pabna-Dhalarchar, Laksam in Comilla-Chinki Astana (near Chittagong), Dohazari in Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar, Akhaura in Brahmanbaria-Laksam in Comilla, Khulna-Mongla, Akhaura-Agartala (India) and Padma rail link (Dhaka to Jessore). Tk 71,525 crores have been spent on their construction. But the benefit is less. As a result, railway lines are called ‘white elephants’.
The phrase ‘white elephant’ refers to a person who spends a lot of money, but does not reap the benefits. In Thailand, kings used to keep white elephants.
The animal was considered a symbol of purity. Working with white elephants was prohibited. If the kings were unhappy with someone, they would give him a white elephant as a gift to trouble him. The person who received the gift was in financial distress while paying for the white elephant.
Sources say, some of those projects of Bangladesh Railways were taken up due to political considerations, some on the advice of a financing country, some on the initiative of contractors. Now the projects have become a burden for the people of the country. Analysts feel that such ‘white elephant’ projects were taken up with a part of the Awami League government’s debt of more than Tk 18 lakh crore.
The construction cost and duration of railway projects have been repeatedly extended. The analysis showed that six of these eight projects were implemented by a few Chinese contractors. Their partners in five were Bangladeshi companies. Indian contractors worked on both.
Tk 71,525 crores have been spent on their construction. But the benefit is less. As a result, railway lines are called ‘white elephants’. Max Group and Tama Construction received the most work among Bangladeshi companies.
Sources say that mainly Bangladeshi influential contractors put Chinese companies in front of them to increase their eligibility to get work. Local contractors play a key role in the acquisition and execution of work. Only the Padma rail link project had Chinese contractors playing a key role.
Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan, chairman and managing director of Tama Construction, is the former vice-president of Noakhali district Awami League. He participated as an independent candidate in the last parliamentary elections and was defeated. Awami League organizing secretary and former state minister Mirza Azam is said to be behind Tama Construction. Mirza Azam’s statement was not available as he was in hiding.
Sources say, some of those projects of Bangladesh Railways were taken up due to political considerations, some on the advice of a financing country, some on the initiative of contractors. Now the projects have become a burden for the people of the country.
Ataur Rahman, managing director of Tama Construction, claims that there is nothing wrong with getting more work by competing. On the phone, he told that Mirza Azam is not a partner of his organization. But he is his longtime friend. People spread misinformation because of intimacy.
Of course, Tama Construction is one of the companies that have received the most work in the last 15 years in various sectors including railways, roads and ships. There are complaints that they would get more work due to their closeness with the important people of the previous Awami League government.
The project was approved in 2010 for rehabilitation of 78 km of old railway line and construction of 44 km of broad gauge main and 8 km of branch line on Rajbari to Tungipara route. Initially, the expenditure was estimated at Tk 1,101 crores. The work was supposed to be completed by 2013. But in the end its construction cost stood at Tk 2,035 crores. The work was completed five years after schedule, in 2018.
Railway officials said on condition of anonymity that the project was taken up without any feasibility study at the will of Sheikh Hasina. In this way, Max Infrastructure and Tama Construction Limited have done the main work of infrastructure construction including new railway, bridge and station building.
Railway sources say that a project to build a new railway line from Madhukhali in Faridpur to Magura via Gopalganj is under implementation in the interest of Sheikh Hasina. This is also taken without survey. Expenditure is Tk 1,202 crores. About 25 km railway line is being constructed under the project. China Railway Group and Bangladesh Castle Construction got the contract work.
Castle Construction is the family company of former Awami League MP Kazi Nabil Ahmed. Of course, Tama Construction is one of the companies that have received the most work in the last 15 years in various sectors including railways, roads and ships. There are complaints that they would get more work due to their closeness with the important people of the previous Awami League government.
Project approval was given in 2010 for the construction of railway line from Ishwardi to Dhallachar in Pabna. The work was supposed to be completed by 2015. However, the railway line was completed in 2018. Initially, its cost was estimated at Tk 983 crores. The expenditure increased to Tk1,715 crores. There was no feasibility study for the construction of the railway line in this way. No train ran through the railway line for two years after its inauguration. In 2020, a pair of trains called ‘Dhalarchar Express’ was launched. The train runs up to Chapainawabganj. Although 10 trains were supposed to run.
Railway sources say the project was taken up with the interest of the then Planning Minister late AK Khondkar. His house is in Pabna. Max Group is working on the Ishwardi to Pabna section in this project. The contractor for the Pabna to Dhalarchar section was Mir Akhtar and India’s Ranken (Joint).
No train ran through the railway line for two years after its inauguration. In 2020, a pair of trains called ‘Dhalarchar Express’ was launched. The train runs up to Chapainawabganj. Although 10 trains were supposed to run.
A 169 km railway line is being constructed from Dhaka to Jessore under the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project. A section of the railway was commissioned last year. The whole thing is supposed to be launched next November.
It is mentioned in the project proposal that if this new railway line is opened, 24 pairs or 48 passenger and freight trains will be able to run every day. The train service started last November. Now 10 passenger trains are plying on this route. Freight trains have not started running. Railways plans to run some passenger trains and one or two freight trains when it opens up to Jessore in November. However, the railway officials are not sure how much it is possible due to various reasons including lack of manpower, shortage of engines.
The project, which started in 2018, was initially estimated to cost Tk34,989 crores. After hiring the contractor, the cost increased to about Tk39,247 crores ($457.4 million dollars). The project is being implemented with China through Jiuji (government level of two countries). The Chinese government is contributing $2.67 billion (58 percent of the total cost).
Open tender was not called for appointment of contractor for Padma Rail Link Project. China Railway Group is approved by the government of that country. The railway authority has decided the cost by negotiating with the contractor. The major complaint about this project is that due to lack of competition, the construction cost has gone up a lot.
It is mentioned in the project proposal that if this new railway line is opened, 24 pairs or 48 passenger and freight trains will be able to run every day. The train service started last November. Now 10 passenger trains are plying on this route. Freight trains have not started running.
According to the Asian Transport Outlook (ATO), a database created jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on construction costs in the transport sector, the construction cost of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project in Bangladesh is about $76.64 million PPP per kilometer (purchasing power parity). Compared to the construction cost of some railways in India, Malaysia and China, the cost of the Padma Bridge rail connectivity project is very high.
In 2016, India began construction of a railway dedicated to transporting goods. The length of this railway called Western Dedicated Freight Corridor is 1,534 km. According to Asian Transport Outlook, the construction cost of the railway is only about $9.3 million per kilometer. The Padma Bridge rail link has cost eight times this per kilometer.
Analysts say that the Padma Bridge project has a chance to be profitable. But more than that, the Padma rail link project is going to turn out to be a white elephant.
Fawzul Kabir Khan, the advisor in charge of the railway ministry, said to Prothom Alo that no project will be taken up in the future, noting that he has learned about the fact that despite spending a lot of money and investing heavily in the construction of railways, no benefit has been obtained. He said, during the Awami League government, there was looting in the name of project implementation. Each of its projects will be investigated.
A 101 km railway line from Chittagong’s Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu has been constructed at a cost of Tk 15,476 crore. Trains started running on this new railway last December. Two trains come and go four times from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar. Apart from this, a train runs twice from Chittagong to Cox’s Bazar. But it is not regular.
However, it was said in the project proposal that the railway will get at least 50 percent of all the tourists who visit Cox’s Bazar from all over the country. In the first year of operation, it will be possible to earn Tk392 crore by transporting passengers and Tk50 crore by transporting goods.
According to railway officials, the railway line was supposed to be taken from Cox’s Bazar to Ghumdhum Gundum, the border with Myanmar. The aim was to connect Southeast Asia, including China, by rail. But due to the reluctance of Myanmar, the plan to build the remaining 28 km railway from Cox’s Bazar was dropped. That is, the income plan by transporting containers has been destroyed.
This railway work is divided into two parts and contractors are appointed. China Railway Engineering Corporation and Tama Group of Bangladesh are working on the Dohazari-Chakaria section. Chakria-Ramu-Cox’s Bazar section has been done by China Certification and Inspection Company and Max Infrastructure.
Two new railways were built from Khulna to Mongla and Akhaura to Agartala with Indian loans. The two railways were inaugurated on November 1 last year by the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Six months after the inauguration, a train started running on the Khulna-Mongla route last May. Akhaura-Agartala train service has not started.
But in 2010, when the Khulna-Mongla railway project was taken up at a cost of Tk 1,721 crore, it was said that by bringing the Mongla port under the rail link, a ‘silent revolution’ would be achieved in the economy. The project is expected to be completed in three years. It took 13 years. After bringing amendments to the project proposal five times, the cost increased to Tk4,261 crores.
According to railway sources, two projects of railway construction on Khulna-Mongla and Akhaura-Agartala routes have been taken up in India’s interest. Their consultants and contractors worked on the project. The goods also mostly come from India.
Late Syed Abul Hossain, Obaidul Quader, late Suranjit Sengupta, Mujibul Haque and Nurul Islam Sujan served as Ministers of the Ministry of Railways during the implementation of these railway projects. They could not make the railway profitable, nor did the service mean much improvement. Instead, the rent has been increased. In the fiscal year 2022-23, Railways has posted a loss of Tk 1,524 crore.
The 15 and a half year rule of the Awami League government came to an end on August 5 in the students’ coup. Obaidul Quader, Mujibul Haque and Nurul Islam Sujan are now in hiding. They could not be reached by phone.
Professor of Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Hadiuzzaman told that many railway projects have been taken by politicians and contractors. As a result, the question of profit and loss or how useful it is for the people has been buried in the beginning. The vicious circle of politicians and contractors have benefited from this. People did not benefit
