Dohazari-Cox�s Bazar And Ramu-Gundum Rail Project
874pc cost hike likely
JAGARAN CHAKMA
Without any visible progress during the last six years of construction of the railway line from Dohazari to Coxs Bazar via Ramu and from Ramu to Gundum project, the first revision proposal is going to be tabled in the meeting of Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) today hiking 874% of the cost. The Planning Commission will place the revised project before the ECNEC for approval. Bangladesh Railway could not implement the project during the last six years due to scarcity of funds.
Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to provide a sum of USD 1.5 billion for construction of the railway line under the South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Railway Connectivity Investment Programme. This line will connect with the Trans Asian Rail line.
Earlier, the Economic Relations Divisions Joint Secretary (ADB wing), Saifuddin Ahmed, told The Independent that negotiations with the ADB for financing the project are nearly complete. He, however, said that some changes will be brought about in the project, as it will now be a single-line dual-gauge track. Earlier, the plan was to construct a 127.66-km-long single-line metre-gauge railway track. Now, the length of the proposed railway track has been increased to 128.26 km.
The bank agreed to provide the fund in the last review meeting of the project. The banks board is likely to approve it this year. It will provide the fund in phases, said Saifuddin Ahmed. He also said the ADB is keen to invest in the railway sector in the South Asian region to improve the sector so as to boost regional trade among the South Asian nations.
The ADB had earlier estimated the project cost at between USD 1.2 billion and USD 1.5 billion for the railway line project up to the border with Myanmar. According to sources in the Rail Ministry, construction of the project is likely to begin in July 2017 and is expected to be completed by 2021.
The ADB team has completed the updated feasibility study of the project. The Railway Ministry has proposed hiking the construction cost of the much-delayed Dohazari-Coxs Bazar single-line dual-gauge railway track project by 603%, apart from extending its timeframe to June 2020.
On July 6, 2010, the ECNEC had approved the project to construct a single-line metre-gauge railway track from Dohazari in Chittagong to Coxs Bazar via Ramu and from Ramu to Gundum along Myanmars border, entailing an expenditure of Tk 1,852.35 crore.
But the Railway Ministry proposed the first revision of the project, entailing an additional cost of Tk 16182.13 crore, thereby raising the overall project cost to Tk 18034.48 crore. The Ministry also proposed extending the project period to June 2020 from December 2013.
Of the proposed first revision, Tk 4,919.07 crore will come from the national exchequer and the remaining Tk 13115.41 crore will come as project assistance. Of the proposed additional amount, an increase of Tk 16182.13 crore will be due to price adjustment and physical contingency, which is 90.11% higher than the original Development Project Proposal (DPP), the hike of Tk 716.92 crore will be for CD/VAT purpose, which is 38.70% higher than the original project cost, and Tk 1,110.15 crore will be for land acquisition, which is 60.47% higher than in the original Annual Development Programme (ADP). Under the proposed first revision, a 99.3-km single-line dual-gauge track will be constructed from Dohazari to Coxs Bazar via Ramu and another 28.96-km single-line dual-gauge track from Ramu to Gundum near the Myanmar border. The project will also have to spend money on rehabilitating people who will be affected by the acquisition of around 690 hectares of land.
