Fund cut as Dhaka's fast-track transit projects on slow spending lane

Five projects, including the airport-Kamalapur underground metro train, aiming at an integrated and swift rail rapid transit for Dhaka have proposed around 50% allocation cut this year, show documents, as the works clocked less than 20% progress in the first half of FY23. 

The five projects had around Tk8,269 crore allocation for FY23, including government and foreign funding. The fund trimming proposals amounted to Tk4,105 crore – around Tk1,583 crore from the government and Tk2,521 crore from the foreign parts.

The implementing agency Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) attributed the slow progress and subsequent budget trimming to land acquisition hiccups, tangled up utility lines and tender issues. 

However, the Budget Management Committee of the Road Transport and Highways Division labelled the fund cut proposal for the government's fast-track projects "disappointing" and pinned the blame on DMTCL's "inefficiency", according to meeting minutes.         

Against the backdrop, the physical work of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-1 – connecting Dhaka airport to Kamalapur with an elevated link from Natun Bazar to Purbachal by an underground metro rail – is going to be inaugurated on 2 February. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the country's first underground rail construction with MRT-1's depot work at Purbachal. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) commissioned the MRT-1 in October 2019 at an estimated Tk52,561 crore.   

But prior to commencing the MRT-1 physical work even after three years, the DMTCL has proposed to cut around Tk1,792 crore, which is about 79% of the total allocation of Tk2276 crore for FY23.

In the current fiscal year, the state-owned company wants to bring down the MRT-1 budget to Tk483 crore thanks to the slow pace of work.

The Budget Management Committee meeting expressed concern over the slower implementation of the priority projects and refunding of a substantial amount from the original allocation in the annual development programme.

Referring to the government's project line-up rearranging due to fund crunch, participants at the meeting said adequate allocations have been kept aside for metro rail projects with the highest priority even amid the crisis. 

The proposals for fund cuts were mostly attributed to "inefficient" implementation, which was regarded as "disappointing".

The meeting urged the DMTCL authorities to speed up the spending in the next fiscal year to catch up with the allocations.  

Md Abul Kashem Bhuiyan, project director of MRT-1, said, "We had a plan of awarding three contract packages to construct the main line from airport to Rampura in the current fiscal year. We surrendered the allocation as we failed to do so."

He shifted the blame to the pandemic that delayed the preparatory works such as basic design, detailed design and land acquisition. He also accused the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the foreign financier, of delays in making some key decisions.

"The Jica was supposed to provide some observations on land acquisition within one month. But the lender took five months to do so," he told The Business Standard.

In October 2019, the Ecnec also approved MRT Line-5 (Northern Route) at Tk41,238 crore to develop rapid metro transit connecting Hemayetpur and Bhatara via Gabtoli, Mirpur-1, 10 and 14, Banani, Gulshan-2 and Natun Bazar. 

The project has Tk800 crore allocated in FY23, but the project authorities seek to reduce it by 49.24% to Tk406 crore in the revised development budget. 

Aftab Hossain Khan, director for MRT-5 project, told The Business Standard they proposed surrendering the money as there is no big payment in the upcoming months.

He said the project, which now is at the design stage, has already acquired lands and would require more money flow next fiscal year for land development.  

"We hope the depot construction will begin in July or August in FY24. We then will be able to catch up with the allocation," he said.

The MRT Line-6 project between Uttara to Motijheel was inaugurated partially in December last year. Though project officials claim the work is progressing fast to extend the services up to Motijheel within 2023, MRT-6 is going to surrender about Tk1,914 crore from its Tk4,963 crore allocation in FY23.

Despite repeated attempts, The Business Standard could not reach MRT-6 Project Director Md Aftabuddin Talukder for comments.