Widening Jatrabari-Demra road loses way in delays, cost overrun

The government launched a two-year project in January 2019 to upgrade the six-kilometre Jatrabari-Demra road from two to four lanes to alleviate chronic gridlocks at Dhaka's southern entrance. Five years later, the chaotic congestion persists with the project only three-quarters complete. 

The pothole-ridden road is now being used by inter-district highway traffic, but local residents cannot easily access it because the contractor has not yet completed the service road as planned.

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) project has missed four deadlines and now faces a fifth deadline of June next year. The original budget of Tk 369 crore has ballooned to Tk 409 crore.

Project officials cited several factors for the repeated delays, including the originally short timeline, land acquisition complexities, the pandemic, and contractor negligence.

During a visit on October 15, heavy traffic was seen on the road leading from Jatrabari intersection. Just ahead, large potholes marred the main highway. Further down the road, vertical cracks and deep longitudinal ruts were seen forming, which according to locals is a major reason behind frequent motorcycle accidents.

The construction of the main carriageway had already been completed. However, work on road marking, signage and safety barrier installation in some sections is still pending.

The newly constructed four-lane main road is littered with garbage and leftover construction materials along the side and is pitch-black at night due to a lack of streetlights.

Local people were seen disembarking from city buses or Lagunas on the highway and crossing safety barriers to reach the service roads, as there are no bus bays or designated bus stops.

Piles of dirt, garbage, and construction materials at various places make the service roads adjacent to the main carriageway difficult for locals to access. Waterlogging from incomplete drainage work makes the roads inaccessible after even light rain.

Potholes dotted the space between the service road and the footpath on the left side of the road in the Kajlar Par area. Abandoned concrete and broken brick pieces littered the service road in the Staff Quarter area.

Why does a 2-year project take over 5 years?

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved a contractor in February 2019 for the project scheduled to be completed by December 2020. 

The project has since been extended three times, to June 2023, and the Road Transport and Highways Division has proposed a fourth extension, to June 2024.

In the proposal, the Road Transport and Highways Division said the work was halted due to a shortage of manpower and an inability to procure goods during the pandemic lockdown. 

The Ecnec in the last meeting approved the proposal.

The contractor found liable

The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Planning Ministry found that the contractor's failure to mobilise manpower, equipment, and materials was a major reason for the delay.

The IMED document issued on June 27, 2022, to approve the third extension of the project recommended legal action against the contractor for negligence of work and required the contractor to show cause to the IMED.

However, the Road Transport and Highways Division and the Roads and Highways Department have yet to take any legal action against the contractor.

What do the officials concerned and experts say?

Mohammad Ahad Ullah, the project director and executive engineer of the Roads and Highways Department, said the contractor is not at fault for the delay.

"If the Roads and Highways Department failed to hand over the project site to the contractor on time… then it is our failure," he said, adding that the situation of the project site was terrible.

He told TBS that the area was initially covered in garbage, making it challenging to acquire land, shift utilities, evict illegal occupiers, and remove the garbage.

"All of the major works are now at the final stage and there will be no reason to extend the project further in future," the project director added.

However, Dr Hadiuzzaman, a professor of Civil Engineering at the Buet, attributed the project's long implementation time to weak planning and lack of preparation.

"It is difficult to complete any construction project within two years, and setting a proper time frame at the approval stage can help to smooth implementation. However, there is no justification for a widening project for a road less than six kilometres long to take more than five years," he added.