BSCIC projects progress at turtle’s pace
The progress is much slower than anticipated due to complexities regarding land acquisition, bureaucracy and delayed fund release
The projects under the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) are progressing much slower than anticipated due to complexities regarding land acquisition, bureaucracy and delayed fund release.
The "BSCIC Industrial Park, Raozan" project in Chattogram was launched in July 2016. It was expected to end in 2019 but the deadline was extended till 2022. The extended term is also coming to an end in June this year.
After five-and-a-half years, soil filling and construction of the boundary wall at the project area have not been completed. In this situation, BSCIC has proposed to extend the tenure for another year.
Apart from deadline extension, expenses have also increased. The cost of the project was initially estimated at Tk89.84 crore. After the first extension, the cost rose to Tk93.66 crore. If the fresh tenure extension proposal is approved, the cost will increase further.
The Raozan Industrial Park is just one example. All the 10 ongoing projects under BSCIC continue to miss their deadlines. When these projects were undertaken, the total expenditure was estimated at Tk1,317 crore which now tripled to Tk3,994 crore.
The 10 projects are- BSCIC Industrial Park, Raozan; BSCIC Industrial Park, Sirajganj; BSCIC Industrial Park, Bhairab; BSCIC Industrial Park, Tangail; Extension of BSCIC Industrial Estate, Narsingdi; BSCIC Plastic Industrial Park, Munshiganj; Infrastructure development of BSCIC Industrial Park, Barishal; BSCIC Printing Industrial Estate, Munshiganj; Rajshahi BSCIC Industrial Park-2; BSCIC Industrial Park for Electrical and Light Engineering Product Manufacturers, Munshiganj.
According to the BSCIC regional office in Chattogram, the Raozan project includes acquisition of 35 acres of land, development of 30.22 lakh cubic meters of land, construction of 375 square meters administrative building and construction of 46 square meters pump driver quarters.
Moreover, small and medium industrial units were to be set up in a total of 184 industrial plots in this industrial city. Allocation will be made for setting up of export-oriented garment industry, ICT/software industry, jute and jute products, pharmaceuticals, furniture, plastics, light engineering, jewellery and agro-based industries.
Visiting the East Raozan Mouza on Friday (6 May), the work of soil filling inside the industrial zone was seen underway, but the construction of the boundary wall has not yet been completed. In the midst of this, five brick-kilns are still standing in the zone.
Locals said bricks were shipped from these brickfields to different areas of the district a few days ago. The contractor company of the project started the land filling work just six months before the project's tenure ends in June this year.
The project's former director Ahmed Jamal Naser Chowdhury told The Business Standard: "I retired two months ago. However, while working, I made every effort to take this project forward."
"It has been three years since we completed the land acquisition. Besides, the work could not be started as the fund was not released on time," he added.
Nizam Uddin, deputy general manager of BSCIC regional office and current project director, said, "As it is not possible to complete the work this year, we have proposed to extend the tenure for another year."
Mirsharai Industrial Estate became a grazing land
A decade ago, the government took the initiative to build the industrial estate on 15.32 acres of land in Mirsharai Sadar of Chattogram.
The project has yet to see the light of day due to various reasons including slow pace of implementation, lack of infrastructural development, and bureaucratic complexity.
The expenditure has increased by Tk2.01 crore in the first revisal of the project, and by Tk4.30 crore in the second phase.
Visiting firsthand, it was seen that the plots have been turned into grazing land for livestock as no factory has been set up in the project area. And at night, the area reportedly gets occupied by drug addicts.
Nizam Uddin, deputy director general of Chattogram Zila Office, told TBS, "Of the 88 plots, three companies have gone into production and six more will hopefully come into production this year."
Sirajganj Industrial Park has not completed in a decade
The project to set up the industrial park in Sirajganj was taken up in 2010. It was expected to end in 2014. But a decade has gone by and the work has not finished.
The project tenure was extended in three phases and expenses have also almost doubled. The initial cost of the project was Tk378.92 crore, which has increased to Tk719.21 crore now.
The extended term of the project is also coming to an end in June this year and only 46% of the project has been implemented so far.
Abdul Khaleq, director of the Sirajganj Industrial Park construction project, said, "It took a long time to get the necessary approvals from various departments. The work of the project started in 2016."
Saloon and hotels are set up in Patia Industrial Park
The industrial zone was established in 1990 at Patia in Chattogram. But the project has stalled due to various reasons including sluggish implementation and lack of infrastructure.
According to the Chattogram Zila Office, 15 companies are currently in production out of 22 plots on 10.54 acres of land in the industrial city.
However, an investigation by The Business Standard found that the companies operating in the industrial zone include barber shops, parlors, tailoring shops, hotels, restaurants, mobile service providers and furniture shops.
Work of Tangail Industrial Park saw 0.81% progress in 7 years
The industrial park project in Tangail was taken up in July 2015. It was expected to end in June 2018. Later the project was revised and extended till June this year.
Initially, the cost of the project was estimated at Tk164 crore, which has increased to Tk295.75 crore. However, in these seven years, only 0.81% of work has been done.
Bhairab Industrial Park
The industrial project of Bhairab in Kishoreganj was taken up in 2012. The work was expected to be completed in June 2018 but the deadline has been extended till July this year in two phases.
Initially, the expenditure was estimated at Tk58.48 crore, which now increased to Tk80.25 crore. But, the infrastructural development of the project is not yet visible.
The tenure will end in two and a half months. BSCIC claimed that 48% of the work has been completed so far.
Rajshahi BSCIC Industrial Park-2
Work on the Rajshahi BSCIC Industrial City-2 project started in July 2015. Even though the work was supposed to be completed in December 2021, only 44% of the construction has been completed.
Similarly, the project to develop the Barishal Industrial Park was taken up in 2016. Its tenure ended in 2021, but only 28% of the work has been done.
When asked, BSCIC Chairman Md Mahbubor Rahman said, "The time and cost of implementing these projects have increased due to land acquisition complications. Proposals for extending time for the projects have been approved and the work will be completed within the approved time."
