One project after another has been sanctioned amid the financial crisis. But despite the approval, the ousted Awami League government could not pay the money on time and as per the demand due to the financial crisis. Again, what was allocated, was discounted even less. As a result, work has stalled and there is no speed of implementation in 4 development projects. These have now become a thorn in the neck of the current interim government.
The total cost of implementation of the projects was estimated at Tk 9,663.81 crores. Tk 4 thousand 7 crores have been spent under the projects so far. Eventually these may require an increase in duration and cost. In this situation, there is a risk of losing hundreds of crores of rupees. They say that the project work would have gone a long way if it had been allocated as per requirement. But in some cases, not even half of the demand was received. Contractors are also showing reluctance to work in various projects that have already increased the price of products. In this situation, it is normal to increase the cost.
Executive Director of the Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development (INM) Mustafa K Mujeri had earlier told that if the projects had been implemented on time, the amendment might not have been necessary. Naturally, if the time over runs, the cost must run over. That is, generally, as the duration of the project increases, the cost will increase.
The projects are - construction of 34 buffer warehouses in different parts of the country to facilitate storage and distribution of fertilizers, development of important rural infrastructure on priority basis, de-flooding of Kapotaksha river (second phase) and switching and transmission network development project to strengthen digital connectivity.
Abul Kashem secretary of the Ministry of Planning, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) asked about this. Mohiuddin told that money could not be allocated to these projects due to various reasons. This includes the impact of the global crisis. Besides, the implementation of 353 development projects was completed last financial year. As the work of these projects is more than 80 percent, the allocation has been ensured as per the demand. As a result, less allocation is given to some slow moving projects. Also, due to the dollar crisis and rising dollar prices, procurement of goods for many projects has been delayed. It has also been seen that the progress of the project has stalled only because of the inability to import lifts. There are many reasons for this. In response to a question, he said, usually there is a fear of increasing the cost as the period increases. However, in the case of a project, the duration may increase without increasing the cost.
According to IMED sources, the priority rural infrastructure development project was scheduled to be implemented between July 2020 and June 2024. But as it is not, it has been extended by 2 years till June 2026 through the first amendment. In addition, the main cost of the project was Tk 6,476.65 crore. Later, through the first amendment, the expenditure was increased to Tk 6,526.55 crore. In this project, the money was not exempted according to DPP (Development Project Proposal). Along with that, the allocation was not met according to the demand. Till April Tk 3,413.28 crore has been spent under the project, which is 52.30 percent of the total allocation. Besides, physical progress has been 52.48 percent. The project was not implemented as planned in 4 financial years from FY2020-21 to FY2023-24. The main reason for this is that it was in the ‘B’ category (the finance ministry had earlier categorized all projects into A, B and C categories due to the financial crisis). As a result, the allocation is very low.
Apart from this, the Kapotaksha river dewatering (phase II) project was to be implemented between July 2020 and June 2024. But as of last April, the physical progress of the project stood at 66.17 percent. The total expenditure under the project is estimated at Tk 531 crore. Against this, Tk 186.51 crore has been spent so far, which is 35.12 percent of the total allocation. Sources related to the project said that the allocation for DPP in the financial year 2020-21 was Tk 214.56 crore. But the discount has been Tk 1 crore, which is 0.47 percent of the total allocation. In addition, the allocation for the fiscal year 2021-22 was Tk 210.58 crore, against which the expenditure was Tk 53.66 crore. This is 25.48 percent of the total allocation. In the fiscal year 2022-23, the allocation was Tk 99.90 crore, the expenditure was Tk 79.97 crore. Which is 80.05 percent of the total allocation. In the fiscal year 2023-24, the allocation was Tk 97 crore, the expenditure was Tk 51.86 crore. Which is 53.46 percent of the total allocation. It can be seen that Tk 622 crore have been allocated under the project in different financial years. On the contrary, Tk 205.91 crore has been discounted, which is 38.77 percent of the total allocation.
The switching and transmission network development project to strengthen digital connectivity was scheduled to be implemented between January 2019 and June 2022. But later the period was extended till December 2024. The original sanctioned expenditure for its implementation was Tk 155.38 crore. Later, the expenditure was reduced to Tk 123.42 crore. Till April, Tk 85.6 crore have been spent, which is 68.92 percent of the total allocation. IMED said, implementation of Tk 38.36 crore or 31.08 percent in the remaining 8 months will be a tough challenge. From the research, it is known that there is a huge difference between the target setting and implementation in 6 financial years from 2028-19 financial year to 2023-24 financial year.
Meanwhile, the construction project of 34 buffer warehouses is scheduled to be implemented between 2018 and June 2025. Its total cost is estimated at Tk 2,482.84 crore. Tk 322.43 crore has been spent till last May, the financial progress stands at 12.98 percent. Besides, even after almost 5 and a half years, the actual progress has been 33.50 percent. As the revised DPP (Development Project Proposal) of this project is under process in the financial year 2022-23, no funds have been allocated or exempted. In addition, only Tk 13.95 crore has been released out of the allocation of Tk 45 crore in the financial year 2023-24. But that money was not spent. Preliminary activities are going on with the tender of this project. But the construction of 34 buffer warehouses has not yet started.
