Tenure extension raises cost by 92pc
The government yesterday extended the tenure of a water supply project by three years increasing its cost by more than 92 per cent.
The Tk 1,036-crore Bhandal Juri Water Supply Project will now cost Tk 1,995 crore, of which Tk 889 crore will come from Korea and the rest from the government.
The new deadline of the project is June 2023, according to a decision taken at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) held at the NEC auditorium in Dhaka.
In the meeting, the planning ministry gave reasons why the project cost and deadline needed revision.
The taxes to be paid by the contractors were not included in the original project cost, but now the government will have to bear Tk 291 crore more for the purpose.
In the main project plan, the exchange rate of the US dollar was shown at Tk 77.8, which increased to Tk 85 in recent times. This has also raised the project cost.
The project added a new tertiary line to ensure supply of water among the inhabitants of Patiya, Anowara and Boalkhali. A proposed residential building for project officials as well as land acquisition also jacked up cost.
Some nine projects worth Tk 4,324 crore got the go-ahead at the meeting yesterday, with around one-fourth of the funds going to the revised water supply project.
The government okayed a four-lane road from Hatirjheel to Demra highway that would cost Tk 1,209 crore. The project under the public private partnership is scheduled to end in December 2024.
The road will be used as an alternative route for vehicles going to Chattogram and Sylhet via Jatrabari and Sayedabad.
The Ecnec also approved a Tk 793-crore dredging project for the Mongla channel to be completed in June 2022.
