Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Project hit by design flaws, delays and Tk 250 crore irregularities

A nearly Tk 17,000 crore South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor road development project is facing mounting implementation problems because of flaws in its original design, delays in land acquisition and utility relocation, and the non-approval of revised designs, according to a close review report by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED).

The report said the mega project now faces risks of both time and cost escalation. Government audits also identified multiple financial irregularities in tendering, bill payments, tax collection and contract implementation amounting to about Tk 249 crore 95 lakh 86 thousand.

When asked about the findings, State Minister for Planning Md Junaid Abdur Rahim Saki said the matter was unfortunate and that necessary action would be taken after an examination.

According to the IMED report, the six-year project, running from January 2021 to December this year, has already used up about 89 percent of its timeframe. However, by April this year, physical progress had reached only 21.5 percent, while financial progress stood at 26.13 percent.

The report said Tk 4,421 crore 63 lakh 59 thousand has already been spent on the project. Of that, Tk 3,704 crore 64 lakh 57 thousand came from Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans. IMED believes the project cannot be completed within the scheduled time.

Project Director A K M Fazlul Karim said implementation was proceeding in line with the approved Development Project Proposal, but some inconsistencies had emerged between the feasibility study and implementation stage. He said limitations in the preliminary geological survey led to the identification of sludge in DS-1 lot and organic soil in DS-7 lot, requiring design revisions and land improvement works, which created risks of delays.

A K M Fazlul Karim said faster completion of land acquisition, utility relocation and approval of revised designs would accelerate project progress.

Under the heading of errors in the study and design revisions, the IMED report said the 2019 feasibility study, which formed the basis of the project, had failed to properly determine geological conditions and the locations of utility lines including electricity and gas. During implementation, weak soil and sludge were found in several places, making the ground unsuitable for road construction.

The report said this had forced repeated design revisions, additional testing, removal of weak soil and land development works, disrupting the construction schedule and creating risks of higher costs and delays.

The report said that although 829.83 acres of land are required for the project, only 312.15 acres, or 37.61 percent, had been handed over to project authorities by the time of inspection. Likewise, of the 190.25 kilometres of road, only 91.22 kilometres had been handed over to contractors.

Progress in utility relocation was also described as unsatisfactory. Relocation of power lines was about 46 percent complete, while only 0.78 percent of the Titas Gas pipeline and 15.68 percent of the Jalalabad Gas line had been relocated.

IMED said lack of coordination among district administrations, the Roads and Highways Department, the Power Division and gas distribution entities meant contractors were unable to access workable areas in many places.

Inspections found that progress on the main road was only 11.50 percent. Service lane construction stood at 16.33 percent, bridges at 31.14 percent and culverts at 58.79 percent. Work on U-turns, roundabouts and foot overbridges had not started.

Government and internal audits detected several financial irregularities in the project. The report said nearly Tk 249 crore 95 lakh 86 thousand in irregularities were linked to awarding a contract to the second-lowest bidder instead of the lowest bidder, excess payments and irregularities in tax deductions.

Audits also cited payment of Tk 3 crore 54 lakh for semi-permanent accommodation for engineers without the work being carried out, an excess payment of Tk 25 lakh 88 thousand under price adjustment, failure to realise Tk 4 crore 63 lakh in VAT and income tax from contractors’ bills, an extra payment of Tk 45 lakh 94 thousand without approval of variation, failure to deposit bank interest into the state treasury, failure to obtain mandatory insurance and other financial irregularities. Most of these audit objections remain unresolved.

The IMED inspection team also questioned the quality of construction work. The report said tests found compressive strength of concrete used in rigid pavement in several sections was below the design standard. Shortcomings were also found in workers’ use of personal protective equipment, safety barriers and warning signs at construction sites, increasing the risk of accidents.

The report said 88.77 percent of local people had suffered due to ongoing construction. It said 69.23 percent of local residents were affected by dust, noise, construction waste and drainage problems.

There was also dissatisfaction among local people over land acquisition. The report said 77.78 percent of landowners had still not received compensation. Among those who had received compensation, 72.52 percent believed they had not been paid a fair price.

Asked about the project, ADB Senior Project Officer (Transport) Humayun Kabir said the biggest obstacles were land acquisition, utility relocation, design changes and weak contractor performance. He said there had been no delay in fund disbursement from ADB.

Humayun Kabir said land acquisition and utility relocation must be completed quickly to avoid time and cost escalation, while decision-making should be sped up, contractor supervision strengthened and project management made more robust.

IMED recommended urgent coordinated action, warning that both the project period and cost would rise further if swift measures were not taken. The report said the project could still deliver the expected economic benefits if land acquisition is completed quickly, utilities are relocated, inter-agency coordination is improved, contractors increase manpower and equipment, and construction quality is ensured.