RHD adds facilities of a national highway to a regional road!

FT ONLINE

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) will rebuild a 31 km-long existing regional road pouring Tk 300 million (30 core) into each of the kilometres, insiders said.

The RHD has proposed spending only one-third of the Tk 9.29 billion project cost on building the road, they said.

It will spend the rest of the fund on land acquisition, land development, setting up axle load controller, purchasing vehicles and construction equipment, promotion and advertisement, and plantation, etc., insiders said.

The RHD has recently sent the project proposal to the Planning Commission (PC) seeking approval of rebuilding the 31km Mostafapur-Madaripur-Shariatpur-Ibrahimpur-Harina-Chandpur (Vatialpur) road (Shariatpur part).

The proposed cost of the 31km regional road development seems to be "very high" compared to similar other projects, said a senior commission official.

"Moreover, only one-third of the cost will be utilised for road building. The rest of the money will be spent on less important jobs. This is an ambitious project for a poor country like Bangladesh," said the official.

He wondered how the road will be feasible when the project requires most of the fund for acquiring land.

The RHD has set aside Tk 4.32 billion funds, some 47 per cent of the total Tk 9.29 billion cost, for land acquisition for rebuilding the 31km regional road.

Besides, it has sought Tk 1.16 billion, 12.5 per cent of the total project cost, for setting up an axle load control stations on the road.

In addition, the RHD will purchase a jeep and two motor bikes at Tk 9.0 million, spend Tk 391.46 million for earthen work, Tk 4.2 million for planting new plants and removing the existing trees on the road, and Tk 41.5 million for shifting cables and electric poles.

Another government official said the unit costs for building pavement of the road, surfacing, culverts, bridges, and for the earthen work had been proposed higher than similar kind of ongoing road development projects in the country.

The RHD has proposed cost for a cubic metre of earthen work at Tk 309, for a kilometre of pavement construction at Tk 27.17 million, for a km of surfacing at Tk 39.79 million and for a metre of bridge at Tk 2.0 million and for a metre of culvert at Tk 1.5 million of the road project.

The road developer has spent Tk 250 for a cm of earthen work, Tk 4.52 million for a km of pavement construction, Tk 3.88 million for a km of surfacing work, and Tk 1.0 million for constructing a metre of bridge at the district road development project, Barisal zone.

"So, it is evident the cost is higher than similar kind of road development work in Bangladesh. The proposed cost for the project should be rational," said a top commission official.

"We are scrutinising the project strictly," the official said.