Pandemic slows BFDC complex work
The project was approved on 2 October 2018 and is scheduled to be completed by December this year
The construction of the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) complex, which was scheduled to be completed by December this year, has not even started in more than two years since the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project in 2018.
The government allocated Tk322.78 crore for a 15-storey multi-purpose commercial building which would include shooting floors, four cineplexes with modern equipment, accommodation facilities, food courts and swimming pools to facilitate indoor shooting.
Shooting floor-3 and shooting floor-4 were demolished to make room for the building in July last year.
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Additional Project Director Ayub Ali told The Business Standard (TBS), "Covid-19 is one of the major reasons behind the slow progress of the project. It took us a while to get the design approved. After the approval, we called for tenders. We hope to start the construction soon."
On 21 September last year, Md Kamal Hossain, a director at the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), who made a report after visiting the BFDC project, told TBS, "I was disappointed after what I saw last year. In the last two years, the growth of the project has been very slow."
Only Tk1.51 crore has been spent which is around 0.47% of the entire project. The project also has additional monthly expenses around Tk3 lakh, he added.
BFDC authorities have already requested for extending the time, which will increase the cost of the project, a BFDC official told TBS, seeking anonymity.
Dexterous Consultants Ltd is currently in charge of monitoring, supervision and architectural design of the project. The company would be paid around Tk4.47 crore.
