The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) around four years ago faced a dilemma regarding construction of 94 bridges without any survey. The length of each bridge and costs were determined on assumption. Now nothing is going right. In some areas, the height of the bridge is having to be increased and that leads to an extension in length. This has pushed up costs.
The bridges were supposed to be open to transport by June next year. But as the estimates were not accurate, the structures of the bridges have to be changed. As a result, the Tk 39.26 billion (Tk 3,926 crore) project now stands at Tk 64.57 billion (Tk 6,457 crore). That means an extra cost of Tk 25.31 billion (Tk 2,531 crore). It also raises doubts as to whether the work will be completed even within the year 2024.
According to LGED sources, in January 2017, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved of a project for the construction of 130 bridges in 94 upazilas of 40 districts. When ECNEC had given approval of the Tk 39.26 billion (Tk 3,926 crore ) ‘Construction of Important Bridges on Rural Roads’ project, surveys had been carried out for only 36 bridges. The remaining 94 were approved without any sort of survey or study.
The planning ministry provides specific guidelines to be followed in the construction of bridges over 100 metres in length. According to these guidelines, before the construction of these bridges, detailed survey must be conducted to determine the condition of hydroelectricity, water supply, environment, navigation and the socioeconomic conditions. These studies will take into consideration the river’s characteristics, the river bed and the flow of water. Based on the survey, the design of the bridge will be drawn up and then the costs will be determined.
Project director Manzurul Alam Siddiqui, speaking to Prothom Alo, said, “After competing detailed survey of almost all the bridges, when we went to the field to construct the bridges, it was found that some of the bridges would have to be increased in length. Some would have to be increased in height. The link roads would have to be extended. Land acquisition would have to be increased. The rate schedule has also changed. Land acquisition rates have tripled. That is why the project costs have gone up and also the time has to be extended.”
Manzurul Alam has been with the project for the past one and half years. That is why, he says, he has no idea what transpired before that. He said when the project was approved, surveys had been carried out on 36 of the 130 ridges. There were 58 bridges over 58 metres. The surveys on those bridges were near completion. But as the remaining 36 bridges were below 100 metres, studies for those bridges were not compulsory.
However, professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)’s water and flood management institute, AKM Saiful Islam, does not agree that there is no need for survey if a bridge is under 100 metres in length. He told Prothom Alo, even if studies for bridges under 100 metres are not compulsory, they should carry out the surveys on their own accord. After all, there are early floods in many areas and if the water flow of that area is not taken into consideration, all sorts of problems can crop up. Without surveys, it is seen that many bridges are destroyed by the strong water current. River banks change and climate changes also bring about various changes. That is why any bridge over 50 metres requires a survey before construction.
Condition of the bridges
The planning commission, reviewing 9 of the 130 bridges, noted that tenders could not be called for construction due to complications in costs and length. These bridges are: 1. The 1020 metre bridge over a Padma tributary in Faridpur district sadar, 2. The 1020 metre bridge over Meghna in Ashtagram upazila of Kishoreganj, 3. The 1020 metre bridge over the Ghora Utra river in Mithamain upazila of Kishoreganj, 4. The 650 metre bridge over Turan in Savar Dhaka, 5. The 600 metre bridge over Brahmaputra in Jamalpur sadar, 6. The 960 metre bridge over Kushiara in Gopalganj Sylhet, 7. The 600 metre bridge over Arial Kha in Gournadi, Barishal, 8. The 750 metre bridge over the river Khairabad in Bakerganj, Barishal, and 9. The 730 metre bridge over river Khairabad in Nalchhiti of Jhalkathi. In the main project, the cost of these 9 bridges was estimated at Tk 4.80 billion (Tk 480 crore). Construction costs have been hiked up to Tk 15.70 billion (Tk 1,570 crore) now.
Negligible progress
Only 17 per cent of the project had progressed in around four years, and financial progress has been 13 per cent. Of the 130 bridges, so far only 9 bridges have been completed. These are: 1. The 50 metre bridge over the Rahmat Ali canal in Lakshmipur district sadar, 2. The bridge over river Chela in Chhatak, Sunamganj, 3. The 40 metre bridge over the river Sri in Naogaon district, 4. The 60 metre bridge over Kumar river in Rajbari, 5. The 81 metre bridge over a Dhaleswari tributary in Tangail district sadar, 6. The 96 metre bridge over Chhoto Jamuna river in Dinajpur, 7. The 96 metre bridge over a Jamuna tributary in Jamalpur district, 8. The 24 metre bridge over Kushala canal in Kotalipara, Gopalganj, and 9. The 49 metre bridge over Tegachhia in Patuakhali district.
In our country, bridges are seen merely as bridges. But each bridge involves the flow of the river, floods, water management and environmental issues. It is alarming that the bridges were given approval without any survey.Fouzul Kabir Khan, former secretary and project expert
In the meantime, work on 74 bridges is progressing at a snail’s pace. Tenders have been called for 15 bridges. The designs of 6 bridges have just been finalised. Survey on 24 bridges has just been completed. And the survey of the remaining 2 bridges has not been completed as yet.
An inter-ministerial meeting was held virtually on 29 July regarding the project for the construction of these 130 bridges. At the meeting, the LGED chief engineer Abdur Rashid Khan admitted that the costs of most of the bridges had increased compared to the estimates made in 2017. Costs had also gone up for land acquisition.
At the meeting, project director Manzurul Alam Siddiqui said the survey hadn’t been carried out on many of the bridges in the main project. When the surveys were carried out later, it was seen that the height of many bridged would have to be increased. That would mean an increase in length too as well as an increase in land acquisition. He said as there was a lack of skilled persons in LGED, expenditure on consultants also went up. LGED lacks the skilled workforce required for such bridges.
In the meantime, LGED sent another project for the planning commission’s approval for the construction over 100 bridges. The commission, however, clearly said that the project will not be approved without detailed surveys on all the bridges.
Project expert, former secretary Fouzul Kabir Khan, told Prothom Alo, “In our country, bridges are seen merely as bridges. But each bridge involves the flow of the river, floods, water management and environmental issues. It is alarming that the bridges were given approval without any survey.”
He said that it is not that only vehicles will cross the bridges. All sorts of vessels will go underneath and the river water will be used for irrigation. Detailed study is required before a bridge is constructed, taking environment into consideration too. Only then a decision can be taken about constructing a bridge. But unfortunately in our country, bridges are constructed on political consideration for by the homes of people’s representatives to their convenience.
This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir