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Amin Ullah Nuri said the project proposal is now with the Planning Commission and its approval is expected soon.
In reply to a query, he told The Daily Star last night, “There is no risk over getting the fund. The project will be approved within the timeline.”
THE PROJECT
The World Bank, in its appraisal report prepared for financing a road safety project in Bangladesh in 2021, said different bodies exist in Bangladesh to ensure road safety, but they are not empowered and lack effective coordination to get expected outcomes.
These organisations are also not held accountable. Besides, the fund allocated for road safety action plans is insufficient, not prioritised, and has never been institutionalised, it said.
The multi-lateral financer carried out several studies before taking the final decision regarding the loan.
Meanwhile, in September 2021, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at an event alleged that the WB was delaying its decision to finance Bangladesh’s road safety project, despite repeatedly expressing interest.
The WB on August 28 last year approved $358 million loan to help Bangladesh improve road safety, and reduce fatalities and injuries from road accidents in selected high-risk highways and district roads.
The project will have several components and will be implemented by the RHD, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, Directorate General of Health Services and Bangladesh Police.
It will pilot comprehensive road safety measures, including improved engineering designs, road signs and markings, pedestrian facilities, speed enforcement, and emergency care from Gazipur to Elenga and Natore-Nawabganj highways. These measures will help reduce road traffic deaths by more than 30 percent on these two highways, the WB hoped.
The project will also undertake road safety pilots in selected urban areas and district roads. It will improve post-crash care, which is critical in saving lives, and will also set up an ambulance service via a toll-free number and upgraded emergency care services in selected district hospitals, and upazila health complexes along the two national highway corridors.
DELAY IN PROJECT APPROVAL
Upon receiving the DPP, the Planning Commission in February 2022 asked project implementation agencies to recast it with the answer of more than 20 queries, said RHD sources.
In December last year, the DPP was re-submitted with an estimated cost of Tk 4,951.52 crore.
But the Planning Commission in March this year asked answers for 14 more quarries. RHD submitted the DPP to the Road Transport and Highways Division again late last month.
But the division raised some queries and the DPP was resent with all answers on Sunday, they said.
The project cost stood at Tk 4,988.14 crore now following an increase in US dollar rate. The WB is supposed to give Tk 3,759.82 crore in the project and the government is to provide Tk 1,228.32 crore, they added.
Involvement of three other agencies and the delay in getting necessary information to answer the queries are one of the major reasons for the delay, said a top RHD official.
Dry spell leads to wildfires across South Korea
AFP,
Seoul
Firefighters were scrambling yesterday to contain wildfires across South Korea as a dry spell led to blazes in multiple regions, including on a mountain popular with hikers in central Seoul.
A fire broke out Sunday morning on Mount Inwang, a popular outdoor destination in Seoul’s Jongno district, and spread rapidly due to strong winds, the city government said in a statement.
About 120 households were forced to evacuate, but no deaths or injuries were reported, it added.
Firefighters using helicopters were still struggling to extinguish smouldering fires early yesterday, the statement said, although the main blaze was put out Sunday evening.
Authorities planned to investigate the cause of the fire once it was completely extinguished, Yonhap news agency reported.
Yesterday, firefighting authorities were also battling strong winds and smoke in an effort to contain wildfires across Chungcheong province, south of Seoul.
More than 60 homes and buildings were damaged by fire and at least 236 people were evacuated in Hongseong county in the south of Chungcheong, according to the Korea Forest Service.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday ordered fire and forest authorities to use “all possible resources” to put out the fires, his office said.