Asian Development Bank (ADB) has asked the government to speed up preparatory works for five upcoming road projects, which are aiming to boost sub-regional connectivity. The multilateral lender, which has already promised to finance the projects, stressed meeting the target to begin the development schemes. If the issues of project implementation are prolonged, it may adversely affect the price of construction materials.
The projects are SASEC Road Connectivity Project-3 and 4; SASEC Dhaka-South Corridor Improvement Project; SASEC Dhaka-Chattogram Highway Improvement Project; and SASEC Chattogram Port Access Road Improvement Project. Once implemented, the specific roads will have four or more lanes, which would not only improve internal road communication but also boost regional transport connectivity. The South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme started in 2001. It is a project-based partnership among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It aims to promote regional prosperity, improve economic opportunities, and build a better quality of life for the sub-region people.
We witnessed for many years that when a public service agency embarks on a development or communications project based on faulty designs and no feasibility study, it is bound to run into trouble. Throw unchecked corruption, inefficiencies and lack of accountability into the mix, and you have a system where time and cost overruns are virtually guaranteed. The time and cost overrun in the implementation of development projects mean a delay in and denial of projected benefits for the intended beneficiaries as well as a colossal loss of taxpayer’s money when cumulative costs of such failures are counted.
The government must, therefore, put in place a strong accountability mechanism and ensure that projects are properly planned and handled. It must institute a system conducive to proper planning for all projects so that corruption and inefficiency are not rewarded and people can benefit from the projects as promised. We do agree with ADB to initiate and complete the construction as making any project delay will lead to corruption and wastage of budget.
