The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) yesterday approved a proposal to raise the cost of Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover to Tk. 1,218.89 crore from Tk. 772.70 crore  ‘owing to delay in implementation and change in design’. In total 10 development projects were cleared by the meeting of the country’s highest economic body, held at NEC Conference Room at Sher-e-Banglanagar yesterday. It was presided over by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairperson Sheikh Hasina. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal said that out of the total cost of 10 approved projects, Tk.  3,603.38 crore will come from the state exchequer, Tk. 776.17 crore from project assistance, and Tk. 541.37 crore from the concerned organisation’s own funds. “Seven projects are new while three have been revised,” Kamal informed.
According to the approved detailed project plan (DPP), the project cost of Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover will increase from Tk. 772.70 crore to Tk. 1,218.89 crore owing to delay in implementation and increased construction cost.
According to the fresh proposal, the government will provide Tk. 242 crore of the additional cost while the remaining Tk. 203.98 crore will be financed by a Saudi fund. The 8.25 km  flyover in the capital is being constructed in three parts—from Holy Family Hospital to Tejgaon, from Kakrail to Rampura, and from Mouchak to Banglamotor—to ease traffic congestion between the capital’s north and south parts. The project summary said that the project got an extension of another 18 months to June 2017. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also directed extending one end of the flyover by 450 metre from FDC Gate to Hotel Sonargaon on the Tejgaon-Panthapath Link Road to facilitate vehicular movement over the Sonargaon level crossing and increase the length of the flyover from the original 8.25km to 8.70km. Constructing the 450 metre extension of the flyover will cost Tk. 85 crore, according to sources. Originally scheduled to begin in 2011 and get completed by December 2015, the work actually started in 2013.