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Expressway, metro rail set to be knotty

Transport experts oppose projects to be executed without feasibility study

Tawfique Ali
The billion-dollar projects of elevated expressway and metro rail for the capital city without detailed feasibility study is likely to bring about financial and technical debacles, said country's leading transport experts.
The communications ministry on November 18 embarked on a $2-billion project with invitation for tender bidding to build a 32.5km elevated expressway on public private partnership (PPP) basis.
Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, a noted civil engineer and transport expert, said the project seems to be the contractor-oriented.
"It is not understandable how the authorities will go for tender for the project without carrying out feasibility study," he said adding, “It will be risky to proceed with such project without conducting detailed feasibility study and defining the project parameters."
The government is interested in pursuing massive projects without exhausting any of the first-phase recommendations made in the twenty-year long Strategic Transport Plan (STP) (2004-2024).
The first-phase recommended projects in the STP include elevated way reviews, regional highway connections, Panthapath to Rampura
highway, Tejgaon airport tunnel, bus route priority measures and mass rapid transit (MRT) preparatory works.
MRT system may be a long-term solution but effective traffic and pedestrian management and recovery of the existing road-width will significantly improve the traffic situation immediately, said Jamilur Reza who headed a 31 -member advisory committee on STP
The cabinet committee on economic affairs on October 20 gave a go-ahead to float open invitations for tenders for construction of a metro rail and an elevated expressway at an estimated cost ofTk 15,000 crore.
The committee also approved exemption from bidding prosedures in Private Infrastructure Committee, Major Terms and Conditions Committee and Bangladesh Private Sector Infrastructure Guidelines on a plea of saving time in selection process.
Nazrul Islam, executive director of Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Centre (IIFO under Economic Relations Division, who was the team leader of preparing Private Sector Infrastructure Guidelines said, “Such multibillion projects require adequate attention and care."
Dr M Rahmatullah, policy adviser of TYansport Sector Management Reform of the planning com mission, said the initiative for mass rapid transit is a broad step but embarking on such a mega project without feasibility study will be seriously risky.
"An independent feasibility study by a credible organisation should have been in place before embarking on such a mega project," hesaid.
"A study [report] would be the government's strength, reference and basis for negotiation with the bidders,” he added.
The government cannot evaluate the bidder's proposal and ascertain the actual costs of building the infrastructure without a feasibility study, said Rahmatullah.
Absence of the study may bring a disaster with giving scope for an irregular deal in favour of the contractor to make the project faulty leaving many liabilities on the government, he said.
Prof Alamgir Mojibul Hoque ofBuet.wholedthecounterpart consulting team on making STP said, “The mega projects without feasibility study will not only increase construction costs but also may fail to meet people's requirement It may even put an undesirable structure in place unable to serve the purpose."
The government should have first put in place bus rapid transit (BRT), proper traffic and parking management, optimum use of the existing road spaces, and removal of bottlenecks and small-scale improvement of traffic network.
Replying to a query, Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain told this correspondent at a seminar on November 3 that the strategic transport plan stands as a feasibilityreport for such projects.
Strategic transport plan has many things to provide every detail on each recommended project, hesaid.
“It will take a long time if we follow the existing rules," said Hossain adding. “We need waiver of rules to complete the mega projects within tenure of the incumbent government.”
A party's popularity in Dhaka decides the party's fate in the elections, Hossain said, so their political commitment is to make the project happen within their tenure.
On Novembers, the minister told The Daily Star that the tender documents include a provision that the bidders will have to conduct their own feasibility study for the elevated way project.
Rahmatullah said, Strategic transport plan is not a feasibility study. It Is a set of strategic anil policy recommendations. It itself calls for feasibility study for such projects.”
The contractors in their feasibility study will naturally press for an extended concession period, as the government will not have scope to assess the concessions demanded by the contractors, he said.
The Strategic Transport Plan, framed in 2005 by The Louis Berger Group. USA and Bangladesh Consultants Ltd and approved in March 2008 is just a strategic plan, said Mojibul Hoque.