Chattogram waterlogging: Hasty planning extends three-year project into 11th year

A major project aimed at eliminating waterlogging in Chattogram was launched in haste without adequate planning or comprehensive surveys. As implementation began, one complication after another emerged in the field.

Even after nine years, many of those issues remain unresolved. The project is now set to receive a further two-year extension, stretching its implementation period from the originally planned three years to 11.

The project, titled “Re-excavation, Expansion, Rehabilitation and Development of Canals to Mitigate Waterlogging in Chattogram City,” is being implemented by the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA).

The agency has prepared a second revised project proposal extending the completion deadline to June 2028 and submitted it to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works in June for final approval.

To avoid increasing the project cost in the second revision, the CDA has reduced the scope of work in several components, including silt traps, drain expansion and footpaths.

As a result, the revised project cost has been set at Tk 85.91 billion, down slightly from Tk 86.26 billion approved in the first revision in December 2023.

When the project was originally approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in August 2017, its estimated cost was Tk 56.16 billion.

Four major projects aimed at resolving Chattogram’s chronic waterlogging have been under implementation for the past eight to 10 years. As of March this year, Tk 104.08 billion had been spent on these initiatives.

Despite the massive expenditure, the city’s waterlogging problem has not been fully resolved. The worst flooding this year occurred on 28 April.

Experts say the problems originated at the planning stage. They argue that the project was undertaken without the extensive field surveys, hydrological analyses, tidal assessments and integrated evaluations of canals, drains and water bodies required for such a complex undertaking.

An analysis of project documents shows that because detailed surveys and feasibility studies were not completed beforehand, no physical construction work could begin during the first one-and-a-half to two years.

As of May, the CDA says the project is 98 per cent complete. However, work on two of the city’s 36 canals—Hijra Canal and Jamal Khan Canal—remains unfinished.

Explaining the need for another revision, CDA Executive Engineer and Project Director Ahmad Moinuddin told Prothom Alo that most of the work has been completed, but changes in the fund arrangement have made the revision necessary.

Under the original financing plan, Tk 7.53 billion was to come from the CDA’s own funds and another Tk 7.53 billion through government loans. Under the revised proposal, however, almost the entire amount will now be provided as a government grant. Since the government will release the funds in phases over two years rather than all at once, the project’s duration has to be extended.

According to the new proposal, Tk 84.87 billion of the total Tk 85.91 billion project cost will be financed through government grants. The remaining Tk 1.03 billion will be provided as a government loan carrying 5 per cent interest, repayable over 20 years.

To keep overall spending under control, the CDA has reduced work on silt traps, footpaths, bituminous roads and several other components, saving nearly Tk 4.88 billion. At the same time, allocations for 13 other components have been increased by about Tk 4.53 billion. The additional spending will mainly cover canal dredging and deepening, protection of drainage infrastructure, construction of RCC roads, new drains, RCC girder bridges and culverts.

Delwar Majumder, former chairman of the Chattogram Centre of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB), said the CDA had little practical understanding of what was required to address the city’s waterlogging problem.

“The project was taken up in great haste and without proper surveys,” he said. “That is why no work could begin during the first two years. Later, as implementation progressed, new problems and complexities continued to emerge on the ground. Under the circumstances, extending the project timeline became unavoidable.”