Most railway projects in slow lane as funds trickle in

The pace at which funds are being released is likely to push most of the railway projects years beyond deadlines and make their implementation uncertain, officials and experts fear.

The limited capacity of Bangladesh Railway and burden of new projects over the ongoing ones worsen the situation further, they feel.

Citing some examples, they said the Tk5,580 crore Bogura-Sirajganj dual-gauge railway line project, initiated in 2018, has made a meagre 0.2% progress. The current fiscal year allocates Tk440.50 crore for this stagnant project. 

At this rate of funding, it would take another era to complete the project.

The Khulna-Darshana double rail track project, with an estimated cost of Tk3,506.75 crore, is also facing a similar predicament. The project taken up in 2018 has seen only Tk109.3 crore allocated for FY24. 

At this sluggish rate of progress, completing the 126km railway track will require an additional 32 years.

The most perplexing scenario is with the procurement of 200-metre gauge carriages. Since the project's beginning in 2016, it has so far received a mere Tk2 crore. 

At this rate, completing the Tk928 crore project will take an astonishing 927 years.

Infographic: TBS

Among other neglected projects, three were allocated only Tk1 lakh this fiscal, two others Tk1 crore, and another project Tk2 crore.

At least 18 projects have been allocated less than Tk100 crore. 

Meanwhile, the magnitude of this crisis continues to escalate with the approval of new projects every year beyond the financial capacity of the Bangladesh Railway. 

Transport experts and economists fear the approval of additional projects may cause a major decline in the financial discipline of the Bangladesh Railway in the future.

Mohammed Yasin, additional secretary (development) of the Ministry of Railways told The Business Standard that specific funds are sought from the project director's office at the beginning of the fiscal year and allocations are made accordingly.

There is no opportunity to allocate more or less, he said. "If there is pressure to complete the work, sometimes additional allocation is given to some projects."

Regarding the low allocation for the Bogura-Sirajganj railway project, Yasin said the allocation will increase only after the ongoing design work is completed and the fieldwork starts.

Infographic: TBS

There were complications in the work of the project due to various reasons, the additional secretary said about the work of the Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur rail project. "Recently, its second revision was approved. The allocation will also increase once the work speed is increased."

Besides, regarding the small allocation for the Joydebpur to Ishwardi railway line project, officials of the Ministry of Railways said that although this work was supposed to be funded by China, the country has cancelled the funding. 

It will be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and feasibility study will be done further, they said.

Burden of new projects  

A review of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for FY24 shows that the Bangladesh Railway has 28 ongoing development projects with an estimated cost of Tk1.46 lakh crore. 

Of this, Tk53,107 crore has been spent so far and another Tk92,670 crore will be required to complete them.

In the current fiscal, Tk14,373 crore has been allocated for the projects. If the allocation continues at this rate, it will take another 6.45 years to complete the projects at the stipulated cost.

However, 32 more projects have been included in the new ADP with an estimated expenditure of Tk1.39 lakh crore. 

The allocation for railways in the just concluded financial year was Tk14,886 crore, according to Planning Commission data. 

Commission officials said the allocation for rail development is increasing by 7%-10% every year, but the approval rate for new projects is increasing at a higher rate.

Railway steps beyond capacity

Economist Dr Ahsan H Mansur says medium-term budgetary framework (MTBF) gives a clear idea about the allocation of each ministry and department for the next few years. 

However, the railway ministry officials do not take this allocation ceiling into account before processing new projects, he stated.

"All the projects run short of necessary funds when additional projects are undertaken. Also, due to shortage of manpower, major reshuffles in management occur all the time, resulting in slow progress in work," the economist added.

He also believes there is little possibility of increasing railway revenue as no significant reforms are undertaken to improve management efficiency. 

Instead of building new lines, the economist suggested improving the existing lines and increasing operational efficiency.

An official of the Planning Commission said there has been standing instructions for years to avoid taking up new projects in ADP before completing the ongoing projects. Even the prime minister on several occasions issued similar directives.

However, the Ministry of Railways is not taking these instructions into consideration, the official added.

As the priority of the projects in the master plan of the railway is not identified, the number of approved projects is increasing, said Hadiuzzaman, a transportation expert and a professor of civil engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet). 

Delays in land acquisition and tender process are commonly cited by the railway as reasons for slow works, which need to be investigated by a third party, the professor said.

Hadiuzzaman mentioned that the majority of railway projects are controlled by a few contractors who lack enough manpower and equipment. To address this, he called for enhancing the capacity of smaller firms to develop alternative contractors.

Contractors are rarely made accountable and penalised for the delays, leading to increased costs and fostering a culture of inefficiency, he pointed out. 

He warned that unless this situation changes, no work will be completed in time.

3 projects get 74% of outlay

The Padma Bridge Rail Link Project has received the highest allocation of Tk5,500 crore among the railway projects in the current financial year. 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge got the second highest of Tk3,778 crore, followed by the Dohazari to Cox's Bazar railway project with an allocation of Tk1,400 crore.

These three top-priority projects were allocated Tk10,678 crore or 74% of the total annual outlay for the ministry.

An amount of Tk7,271.51 crore was spent in railway projects in the first 10 months of FY23. 

Out of this, Padma Bridge Rail Link project has spent the highest amount of Tk3,613.81 crore, followed by  Tk1,838.71 crore on Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge project and TK905.71 crore on Dohazari Cox's Bazar Rail Line project.

The expenditures of these three projects accounted for 87% of the ministry's total ADP allocation for the period,  official data showed.

Only Tk913.28 crore was spent on other railway projects.

Economist Ahsan H Mansur said while giving emphasis on ambitious projects, railway management efficiency issues remained neglected.  "As a result, the quality of railway services has not improved , it has rather deteriorated."