Mega projects won’t be completed before election!

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Shafiqul Islam
Published : 07:30, Oct 25, 2018 | Updated : 00:21, Oct 26, 2018

Work of Rooppur nuclear power plant, rail link of Padma Bridge, Matarbari coal plant, Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar rail tracks have not progressed beyond 15 percent.Many of the mega projects will not be completed before election though relevant people say that work is underway to finish them on time.
Work of Rooppur nuclear power plant, rail link of Padma Bridge, Matarbari coal plant, Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar rail tracks have not progressed beyond 15 percent.
Though the construction of Padma Bridge was supposed to have ended by Dec 31, according to government, 60 percent work has been completed. Five spans have been placed and 750 metres of the bridge is visible.
Meanwhile, funds have been allocated for the construction of dual gauge railway from Chittagongs Dohajari to Cox’s Bazar’s Ramu, LNG terminal in Moheshkhali, coal-based power plant on Pyra and Dhaka Elevated Expressway.
Another important project is the construction of road tunnel underneath the Karnaphuli River.
With an estimated expenditure of Tk. 84.46 billion, the tunnel will be aligned from Chittagong airport till two km downstream of the Karnaphuli River.
In most of the big projects, progress has been 15 percent. State Minister for Planning MA Mannan, told Bangla Tribune, “Enough funds have been allocated for these projects and soon, the progress will be noticeable.”
The metro rail is an important project and under this, a 20-km rail line from Uttara to Motijheel will be constructed. Once implemented, 22,000 passengers will be able to use it every hour.
Train service between Uttara to Agargaon is supposed to start in 2019 with the project end time slated for 2024. Starting in 2012 the project has completed 13 percent work.
For Matarbari power plant, the allocation is Tk. 18.36 billion and the project was taken in 2014 with the target of producing 1200 megawatt power by 2023. With an estimated expenditure of 359.84 billion, only Tk 49.52 billion has been spent so far with 14 percent implementation.
In Patuakhali’s Pyra, the biggest coal based power plant is being constructed. The Bangladesh-China 1320 megawatt power plant is supposed to go to production in 2019.
The government says the plant will be eco-friendly. Around 1,000 acres of land are being prepared to construct Pyra and other power plants.
For the 1320 megawatt plant, $1.6 billion will be spent while for the 9,000 megawatt plant, $12 billion will be invested. The plant will be operated by coal imported from Indonesia and Australia.
Economist, Dr. Zaod Bakhts told Bangla Tribune: “There are many problems for big projects and most times, the work does not advance according to plan but this should not be a worry.”
“Once the work has begun, it will end.”
An adviser to the Padma Bridge project Dr. Jamilur Reza Chowdhury told Bangla Tribune: “The bridge will not be completed on time but there’s no reason to be disheartened.”
“There has been 70 percent progress in the bridge construction and 60 per cent done of the overall work”, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Qauder.
Two rivers in the world are unpredictable: one is the Amazon and the other is Padma and there were recurrent problems in placing spans on pillars due to soil condition, he said. “This is the main reason for the delay.”

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