Shawdesh desk:

The executive committee of the National Economic Council in a meeting on Tuesday approved four proposals for the revision of four projects, including the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

Chaired by prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the planning commission auditorium, the ECNEC meeting approved a proposal from the Bangladesh Bridge Authority to increase the cost of the much-talked-about Padma Bridge project by Tk 2,412.13 crore.

This was the third revision of the bridge project.

Following the revision, the project cost steeply climbed to Tk 32,605.53 crore from the initial estimate of Tk 10,161.75 crore made in 2007 when lenders such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank were involved in funding the work.

In 2012, the World Bank and other lenders decided not to provide loans for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge citing corruption in the tender process that forced the government to go for self-funding the bridge.

The bridge across the Padma was opened for vehicular movement in June 2022.

The project deadline has also been extended for an other year till June 2024 in the latest revision.

Planning commission officials at a briefing said that the BBA placed one dozen reasons for the time and cost extension of the 6.15-kilometre-long bridge connecting 21 south and south-western districts with the capital to boost the growth of gross domestic product by 1.23 per cent.

The reasons include the increase in rates of value added tax and income tax, and the consultancy costs for river training, the fluctuation in the currency exchange rate, the inaugural cost of the bridge and changes in the design for river training at the Mawa point.

On April 5, the BBA paid Tk 316.91 crore to the Finance Division as the first two repayment installments against the loan it took from the division for building the bridge.

The Bangladesh Bank provides foreign exchanges under the loan at a low interest rate under an agreement between the Finance Division and the BBA.

Three other projects under the annual development programme were also revised in the day’s ECNEC meeting while the number of ADP projects for time and cost revision is rising despite repeated directives by the prime minister to complete the development projects as scheduled to save time and money.

The number of revised projects under the current ADP was originally 369 while the figure was 326 in FY22 and 285 in FY21.

The other projects revised in the day’s ECNEC meeting include the first revision to the re-construction of the central jail project in Mymensingh, making it costlier by Tk 112 crore at Tk 240 from Tk 127 crore.

The construction of dual-gauge rail-line project between Dhaka and Narayanganj has been revised for the first time while its cost increased by Tk 279 crore to Tk 658 crore from Tk 378 crore.

The ECNEC also approved the third revision to the project for the rehabilitation and improvement of level-crossings in the East Zone of the Bangladesh Railway.

Following the third revision, the project cost went up by Tk 25 crore to Tk 130 crore.

Eight new projects were approved by the ECNEC on the day.

They include the Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship and Resilience in Bangladesh Project at Tk 6,910.94 crore, the Bangladesh Road Safety Project at Tk 4,988.14 crore and the Procurement of Two Crude Oil Mother Tankers and Two Mother Bulk Carrier Ships at Tk 2,620.77 crore.

Two other new projects — Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Project and the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Tungipara — have been deferred by the ECNEC.