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Costs up further

Govt to approve Tk 152cr to prevent river erosion in Padma bridge area

Rejaul Karim Byron
The cost of the Padma bridge project has escalated mainly due to deferring its implementation time and again.
The present estimate is around Tk 29,000 crore - three times the estimate done in 2008.
The cabinet committee on purchase will approve Tk 152 crore today for erosion prevention work over 1.3 kilometres upstream of the area that will come under river training before the construction of the bridge.
The water resources ministry proposed this emergency temporary protection measure as, it says, the riverbank has been eroding at Mawa-Kandirpar point alarmingly, which, if not checked immediately, will hamper the project implementation.
The cost will be met from the Padma bridge project fund.
The army has already completed 75 percent of the work.
The purchase committee last month in a meeting decided that the existing planning process could not always be followed during the implementation of a mega project like Padma bridge. For quick implementation, different strategies may be adopted depending on the case.
The planning ministry will issue special guidelines on the Padma bridge project.
When the project was approved in 2008, the cost was estimated at Tk 10,161 crore. In the end of 2011, the cost was revised toTk 20,507 crore.
After the World Bank cancelled its fund for the project over the allegation of a corruption conspiracy in 2012, the government decided to implement it with own resources.
In May last year, the Bridges Division estimated the cost at Tk 23,185 crore.
The cost will increase further, officials of the Bridges Division said. It will calculate the project expenditure afresh after the appointment of contractors for the river training and
supervision consultants, they added.
The Bridges Division may send a proposal to the planning ministry to revise the project at the beginning of the coming year.
The government has allocated Tk 8,100 crore for the project in the next fiscal year. The Bridges Division has notified the planning ministry of possible requirements of Tk 16,000 crore in total in fiscal years 15-16 and 16-17.
On May 22, the cabinet purchase committee awarded China Major Bridge Engineering Company the job of constructing the main bridge forTk 12,133 crore, whereas the revised cost of that portion in 2011 was Tk 8,361 crore.