Rejaul Karim Byron and Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

When the government approved the Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line project in December 2010, construction of the 64.75km rail line was supposed to be completed within December 2013.

Implausible though it may sound, physical work of the project started in September 2016, allegedly due to complications concerning various issues, including land acquisition and changes in the design.

In the meantime, the project missed several deadlines and the cost rose more than doubled the original estimate.

The project was undertaken to bring the country’s second-largest seaport under a railway network and boost the regional connectivity.

As the latest deadline expired in June this year, the project authority has sought another extension period of at least one year as they could complete only 63 percent work till April this year, documents show.

“Possibility of completing the project in due time is unlikely. It may take up to December 2021 to complete the work,” according to a report of the planning ministry’s Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED).

The report, which was published last month, also forecast that the project cost may escalate further as “the scope of work was going to be increased.”

WHY THE PROJECT UNDERTAKEN?

In an attempt to reduce the dependency on Chattogram Port, the government has taken several steps to boost the capacity of Mongla seaport.