The construction work of Rapid Bus Transit (BRT) Line-3 project moves at snail’s pace, owing to multifarious problems including management of a massive quantity of industrial waste, huge traffic and waterlogging.
At least six workers, including three Chinese nationals, involved in construction of the project were injured as a launching girder fell on them while they were working near Dhaka airport on Sunday.
The accident took place around 10:30am, hours after a pier cap of an elevated section of the same BRT line collapsed.
The project for an extended 20.5km rapid bus service for mass transport between Gazipur and Shahjalal International Airport was taken up in 2012 and it was expected to be completed in November 2016.
Till February this year, only 52 per cent construction work of BRT project has been completed though it’s term was extended several times, finally targeting June 2022.
Given the amount of work done so far, there are doubts whether the project is going to be completed even next year.
When asked, Shafiqul Islam, Managing Director of DBRTCL said the contractor (China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd) is working day and night as the project is lagging behind the deadline.
Moreover, the delay in project implementation also leads to a whopping rise in the project cost.
The initial project cost for the construction was Tk 2,040 crore. In 2016, the project was revised for the second time and the cost was almost doubled to Tk 4, 268.38 crore
Sources said BRT project is to be revised for the third time as new complexities have arisen in its design and specification.
“The technical design of the Tongi-Joydebpur road also needs to be changed which would increase the project cost by Tk 165 crore,” an official involved with the project told The New Nation on Monday.
Dhaka Bus Rapid Transit Company Limited (DBRTCL), a government-owned company, is implementing the project, funded by Asian Development Bank, French Development Agency and Global Environment Facility.
Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) are involved in the implementation of various portions of the project.
“The construction work of the BRT project moves at snail’s pace, causing sufferings to the city dwellers as they stuck in traffic jams for hours, inhaling air that is heavy with dust particles from the construction sites,” said transport expert and BUET professor Dr Shamsul Hoque.
He said the cost and time overrun the project and also invite adverse economic consequences.
Commenting on BRT line’s girder and pier cap collapse, Dr Shamsul Hoque said, “The accidents exposed serious weakness in safety measures and inefficiency of the implementing agency and contractor. The government should take up the issue seriously to prevent similar accident in its ongoing development projects.”
“Not only the BRT project, almost all the government’s development projects are running behind schedules with repeated revision in their implementation cost. The nation will have to pay a heavy price for delay in project construction,” said economist Dr Ahsan H Mansur.
He observed the present government of Bangladesh has undertaken so many mega projects with involvement of large amount of money though the country lacks expertise and experience to deal with them.
“The necessity of these mega projects for the future development of Bangladesh is undeniable. But slower than expected rate of implementation is a concern for the ongoing projects. The expected economic benefits are significantly affected by delays,” added Dr Mansur, who is an Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh.
