No new major road dev projects in FY25 as budget squeezed

The government undertook new projects in road infrastructure in recent years, but there will be no large projects in the sector in the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25 amid a contractionary financial plan of the government, officials concerned said.

The government's allocation for the road development is likely to be decreased to Tk32,042 crore in FY25, they said.

After steady increases in recent years, the government is going to cut the allocation for the upcoming fiscal year, with Tk34,062 crore earmarked for the current year, according to official data.

Officials at the Road Transport and Highways Division under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges say since the government is likely to cut the road development budget, they will pay more attention to the implementation of expired and ongoing projects.

ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division, told TBS that the Division is currently overseeing 156 projects, of which 27 are scheduled for completion in the current fiscal year. The necessary allocation for the timely completion of the remaining projects will be included in the upcoming fiscal year's budget, he said.

"Besides, a few new projects will be incorporated, but there will be no major one among them."

Overall, the upcoming fiscal year's budget is likely to allocate approximately Tk32,000 crore for road development projects, Nuri said.

"With a vision for Bangladesh in 2041, the government has unveiled a comprehensive road communication masterplan. This plan encompasses the construction of 400 new roads, designed to enhance connectivity to ports, tourist destinations, economic zones, and facilitate trans-boundary connection," he said.

The plan also includes the upgrading of existing roads to ensure seamless transportation, he said. Underlining the government's commitment to infrastructural development, Nuri said 1,036 kilometres of border roads are slated for construction.

Of these, 317 kilometres have already been completed, with the remaining sections to be built in phases, he added.

According to minutes of a meeting of the Budget Working Group of the Road Transport and Highways Division, Tk38,143 crore has been proposed for the transport sector in FY25. Of the amount, Tk6,101 crore will be allocated for operational expenses, while Tk32,042 crore will be dedicated to development projects.

The government will provide Tk22,815 crore from its funds for development expenditure. There will also be a lump sum allocation of Tk1,567 crore. The remaining Tk9,228 crore will be sourced from external project assistance (loans and grants).

According to the Revised Annual Development Programme 2023-24, 73 projects are scheduled to be completed by the end of the current financial year. But officials say, not all projects will be finished in the stipulated time. In the case of most of these projects, the time will have to be increased, they say.

Besides, there are 24 projects which expired in June and December in 2023 but physical work has not yet been completed. The Planning Commission has mentioned that fund release for the projects should not be done without extending the period. However, the Ministry of Planning has the approval of the authorities concerned to continue the projects.

Roads and Highways Department, which mainly implements major road projects, will be allocated Tk23,085 crore for the next financial year. In its development budget, an allocation of Tk700 crore has been proposed for Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC). Of the amount, Tk300 crore will be provided by the government and Tk400 crore will be managed from foreign sources.

The officials said the entire amount will be allocated for the purchase of BRTC cars. There was no allocation in the development budget for BTRC in the current financial year.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader in a press conference at the Secretariat on 14 May said initiatives have been taken to procure more BRTC buses.

"BRTC initially proposed to purchase double-decker AC buses. But it later changed the plan to procuring single-decker buses. Discussions are ongoing with Korea and India. It is hoped that the negotiations will be finalised by next November or December," he said.
The minister said BRTC currently runs more than 1,200 buses.

Allocation for implementation of underground metro rail increasing

According to the meeting minutes of the Budget Working Group of Road Transport and Highways Division, the government wants to make visible the country's first subway or underground metro rail project in the next financial year. An allocation of Tk3,595 crore has been proposed for the project named MRT Line-1. The amount is five times compared to the revised budget of the current financial year.

In a project development report published on the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited website, it was mentioned that the project is being implemented in 12 packages. As of March, 36% of the land development package of Pitalganj depot was implemented. The remaining 11 packages are in various stages of the process including tendering. Land acquisition and departmental land transfer of depot access corridors, main lines and stations are going on in various stages.

The officials said work on other packages will be taken up in the next financial year. The government wants to complete the project by the scheduled time of 2026, they said.

The project has two parts. One of them is the airport route, which is 19.87 km in length from Airport to Kamalapur in Dhaka. The route will have 12 stations. The route will be constructed with tunnel boring machines 30 metres or 90 feet below the ground. The stations on the subway will be at Kamalapur, Rajarbagh, Malibagh, Rampura, East Hatirjheel, Badda, North Badda, Notun Bazar, Narda, Khilkhet, Airport Terminal-3 and Airport.

The second is the Purbachal route, which is from Notun Bazar to Pitalganj. There will be nine stations on the route. The 11.37-km route will be completely elevated i.e. above ground. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction of the project on 2 February 2023.

The government is building a metro rail network through six metro rail lines in the metropolis to ease traffic congestion in the Dhaka city and surrounding areas, said the officials. The Uttara to Motijheel section of the MRT-6 line is currently in operation.

Starting from 1 July 2019, the Tk52,561-crore project will be scheduled to be completed on 31 December 2026. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is assisting in the implementation of the project providing a loan of Tk39,450 crore, said the officials.

In the current financial year, an allocation of Tk1210 crore was earmarked for the project, they said. It was later reduced to Tk759 crore in the revised budget, they said.

An allocation of Tk68.44 crore will be earmarked for MRT Line-5 (Southern Route) in the next financial year's budget, the officials said. The project has not yet been presented to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, they said.

The officials said an allocation of Tk1,975 crore has been proposed for MRT Line-6 and Tk968 crore for MRT Line-5 (Northern Route). In total, an allocation of Tk6,606 crore has been proposed for the Dhaka Mass Transit Company, the implementing agency of metro rail.