Roads department’s building extravagance with highway project’s fund

Foreign loans were initially secured to widen the highway from Elenga in Tangail to Rangpur to a four-lane way. Over time, however, various lavish components—including the construction of buildings under the guise of upgrading research laboratories—have been tacked onto the project.

These additions include multipurpose halls, seminar rooms, conference halls, lounges, and over 150 accommodation suites comparable to five-star hotels. Swimming pools, gymnasiums, and indoor sports facilities equipped for billiards, snooker, and card games have also been introduced.

Shockingly, all of this is being achieved by felling large numbers of trees and filling in ponds. This comes at a time when the incumbent government is emphasising nationwide tree plantation; yet, an agency of that very same government is clearing woodlands to construct luxury complexes.

The venture belongs to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and is titled the SASEC Road Connectivity Project-2. Construction of these opulent buildings is underway within the Road Research Laboratory premises at Paikpara in Mirpur, Dhaka.

Tucked away from the main road and enveloped by greenery, the site has seen the demolition of historic architectural structures to make way for the new buildings. The original structures had been designed by the pioneering architect Mazharul Islam.

As luxury elements were incorporated into the project, costs inevitably surged. National Development Engineers (NDE), a contracting firm, was initially appointed to construct the buildings and procure machinery. They were originally awarded the contract for Tk 2.32 billion. After three rounds of budget hikes, the cost has now spiralled to Tk 3.35 billion.

Authoritative sources within the RHD reveal that the contractor initially secured the work by bidding 13.5 per cent below the department’s official estimate. They managed to clinch the deal by artificially understating the costs of numerous line items. Subsequently, however, most of the items that had been underpriced were omitted from the execution plan. Instead, new premium goods and high-value works were introduced.

Sources allege this manipulation was orchestrated purely to maximise profit margins, a maneuver subsequently approved by the authorities. In total, the contractor strategically inflated the expenditure by approximately 45 per cent after securing the contract—a deviation deemed highly irregular.

Towards the end of 2023, the RHD inaugurated its new headquarters adjacent to Hatirjheel in Tejgaon, Dhaka. The modern design and striking aesthetics of the building are bound to catch anyone’s eye. Concurrently, another spectacular circular building was constructed alongside it. One portion of this building is utilised by the RHD, while the other houses the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA). Both structures stand 13 storeys tall.

This central headquarters features an 800-seat auditorium, conference rooms of various sizes, a large mosque, a public plaza, a library, a cafeteria, a daycare centre, and parking provisions for 200 vehicles. Collectively, the construction of these two buildings cost Tk 3.35 billion.

They provide office spaces and workstations for around 1,000 officers and staff. Conversely, the total workforce at the RHD research laboratory stands at barely 50 people. Despite this, an amount equal to the cost of the two major headquarters buildings is being squandered on the laboratory site.

Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), questioned the rationale behind constructing new luxury facilities when such spectacular infrastructure already exists.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, he remarked, “When the main roads building already boasts seminar halls and other state-of-the-art facilities, there is absolutely no justification for replicating such luxury structures elsewhere. This is merely a ploy to inflate project costs. While such practices became normal during the previous regime, it is profoundly disappointing to see this trend persist under the interim and the current BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) governments.”

Iftekharuzzaman further added that infrastructure construction costs in Bangladesh do not accidentally end up several times higher than in many Asian and European countries.

“Costs are artificially driven up through extravagant spending and collusive adjustments to project components. How these proposals successfully clear every tier—from the project authorities to the Ministry, the Planning Commission, and the Cabinet Committee—remains a major question. There are undoubtedly beneficiaries at various levels. An independent third party should investigate these anomalies. At the same time, the lending agency cannot absolve itself of responsibility,” he stated.

RHD sources stated that NDE—the firm that secured the two packages encompassing the luxury construction at the Mirpur laboratory—commenced its contracting business with the RHD in late 2017 during the previous Awami League regime. Over the subsequent six years, they secured road contracts worth Tk 85 billion, both independently and through joint ventures, accounting for 10 per cent of the department’s total works. No other contractor received such a high volume of work.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a concerned official from the RHD told Prothom Alo that NDE routinely exerted influence through Obaidul Quader, the then Minister for Road Transport and Bridges of the Awami League government, to secure contracts.

Obaidul Quader had explicitly instructed officials that the firm was backed by Tarique Ahmed Siddique, the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s military adviser. The proprietors of the company would even drop the name of Sheikh Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, to assert authority.

Raihan Mustafiz, the Managing Director of NDE, did not answer his phone when contacted for comment, nor did he respond to text messages.

SASEC stands for the South Asian Subregional Economic Cooperation. The SASEC Road Connectivity Project-2 was undertaken to upgrade the 190-kilometre highway from Elenga in Tangail to Rangpur into four lanes. The budget was initially pegged at Tk 118.99 billion. Following three upward revisions, the cost has soared to Tk 190.56 billion.

The project is being financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is providing a loan exceeding Tk 110 billion. Under this initiative, the highway is being expanded to four lanes, service roads are being constructed on both sides for local traffic, and several flyovers and bridges are being built.

The expenditure for upgrading each kilometre of the highway to four lanes exceeds Tk 2 billion. Massive spending on road and bridge construction during the previous Awami League regime has long faced intense scrutiny. During the tenure of the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, a committee led by economist Debapriya Bhattacharya was formed to draft a white paper on the state of the country’s economy. The committee submitted its report in December 2024.

The white paper revealed that under the previous Awami League government, Bangladesh spent an average of US$635 million per kilometre to construct a four-lane highway. This is 4.4 times higher than the cost in India. Compared to Pakistan, Bangladesh’s expenditure on identical roads is 2.15 times higher. China constructed similar roads at half the cost, while the expense in Bangladesh is nearly four times higher than that of Turkey.

Although the current BNP government has emphasised cutting back on inflated expenditures in mega-projects, the excessive costs within the SASEC-2 project have once again come to light.

The government originally approved the SASEC project in September 2016, with a completion deadline set for August 2021. In 2019, the project cost was increased to Tk 166.62 billion. In 2024, it was further raised to Tk 186.79 billion. Most recently, during the interim government’s tenure, the project timeline was extended by two years, pushing the total cost to Tk 190.56 billion. The final deadline for completion is set for December this year. As of last March, the overall progress of the project stood at 89 per cent.

According to RHD sources, the previous interim government extended the timeline and overall budget for the entire project. Now, intense lobbying is underway to approve additional works and cost variations requested by the contractors for individual packages. A proposal to this effect was sent to the Ministry of Road Transport on 7 April, awaiting final clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase.

The project is being executed across 11 distinct packages. Nine of these relate directly to road and bridge construction. The remaining two packages cover the construction of buildings in Dhaka, the installation of three axle-load control centres, and the procurement of vehicles to monitor road conditions. NDE secured the contracts for both of these auxiliary packages.

RHD sources noted that the majority of contractors for the road and bridge construction packages are Chinese firms. Among Bangladeshi companies, Abdul Monem, Mir Akhter, and Monico are also involved.

Over 150 vehicles, including SUVs, double-cabin pickups, microbuses, buses, and motorcycles, have been procured for this project. While the purchase of certain vehicles, including some SUVs, was formally sanctioned by the Ministry of Finance, the remainder were quietly embedded within individual work packages—escaping the notice of anyone outside the contractor and project authorities.

In this manner, expenditures were inflated across all nine road and bridge construction packages by repeatedly projecting inflated workloads. Cost variations across these packages ranged from a minimum of 17 per cent to a maximum of 45 per cent. The exact same strategy was employed across the board: low-priced items were discarded, and high-priced items were added, manipulating the system to engineer these variations.

Project Director Waliur Rahman claimed to Prothom Alo that the project design was conceived back in 2014. He argued that subsequent new demands had arisen, causing the costs to escalate.

Regarding the alleged manipulation by contractors, he claimed that compared to other mega-projects, the variations in this project were actually quite low.

RHD sources stated that during the tendering process for construction works, prices are calculated separately for every single item, and the contract is awarded to the lowest bidder. In the tender for constructing buildings at the Mirpur Road Research Laboratory, there were approximately 3,000 individual line items. Once the contractor secured the work, around 550 items—specifically those where the contractor’s bid was lower than the government’s official estimate—were completely dropped. Consequently, the discount under which the contractor had originally secured the contract effectively ceased to exist. Following this, the quantities for nearly 400 items were slashed, a move that also played directly into the contractor’s hands. Subsequently, 650 entirely new, high-value components were introduced.

As a direct result of this manipulation, the cost of the initial work increased by Tk 1.03 billion over the original contracted price. Compared to the core agreement, the rate of work variation or escalation stands at an astronomical 85 per cent.

According to relevant sources, Tk 250 million is being spent solely on lifts, air conditioning, and associated machinery for the building. Over Tk 200 million will be spent on internal electrical equipment. Furthermore, the budget allocated for office furniture, laboratory apparatus, and equipment is pegged at over Tk 400 million. Ironically, modern laboratory equipment worth nearly Tk 500 million is already lying idle at the Mirpur laboratory and the RHD research centre near the Meghna Bridge in Narayanganj. Due to a severe lack of skilled human resources and underutilisation, this equipment is falling into disrepair.

Under government procurement laws, such extensive modifications to line items are unacceptable unless prompted by anomalous soil behavior or natural disasters. Yet, following the appointment of the contractor, variations were made to the extent of upgrading a 6-storey building design into a 10-storey complex.

Project Director Waliur Rahman maintained that the laboratory facilities are being built with the future in mind, arguing that a world-class training centre requires modern, state-of-the-art amenities.

In line with its electoral pledges, the current BNP government has resolved to plant 250 million trees across the country over the next five years, targeting 50 million tree plantations this year alone. A high-level cell, spearheaded by Prime Minister’s Adviser Nazrul Islam Khan, has also been established to oversee this mission. Yet, the RHD, an arm of the state, is actively executing a project that involves cutting down trees to construct buildings.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the Road Research Laboratory area boasts thousands of trees. Approximately 1,000 teak, mahogany, acacia, and various fruit-bearing trees are being cleared to make way for the buildings.

Furthermore, there were three ponds within the laboratory campus. One large pond has already been completely filled in. In fact, the contractor even drew funds from the government to cover the costs of filling the pond and draining the water body.

RHD sources admitted that no approval was sought from RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha) for constructing the buildings under this project. Furthermore, the project lacks any environmental clearance certificate, despite such clearance being legally mandatory before executing any infrastructural development.

In a 2023 study utilising Landsat satellite analysis, the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) pointed out that only 7.9 per cent of Dhaka consists of green cover. Over the past 28 years, at least 43 per cent of Dhaka’s green spaces have been eradicated. During the same period, 85.85 per cent of Dhaka’s wetlands vanished, while built-up areas or concrete structures expanded by 75 per cent.

Additionally, nine residential buildings of various sizes meant for staff quarters within the laboratory campus have been demolished. Several of these buildings were designed by the legendary architect Mazharul Islam. In 2020, the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) sent a formal letter to the then Roads Minister Obaidul Quader, pleading for the preservation of these buildings. The IAB had previously applied to list several of Mazharul Islam’s architectural works as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Although the RHD authorities had promised not to demolish the structures, they ultimately reneged on their word.

During a physical inspection last Friday, workers were seen operating behind barricades erected by the contractor. Construction on one building is nearing completion, while work on two other large complexes is ongoing. Three buildings have been constructed for staff quarters, though a staff member complained that these were poorly built and substandard.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior RHD official stated that the contractor has already drawn bills far exceeding the actual volume of work completed.

He noted that a proper investigation would unearth far greater irregularities. Moreover, the contractor’s staff are utilising the RHD’s old buildings for accommodation, even though they are simultaneously charging the project for housing expenses.

The RHD Central Research Laboratory at Paikpara was established in 1965 across an expansive 41-acre site. In addition to this central facility, there are nine field-level laboratories across the country. However, this 58-year-old institution has failed to play any meaningful role in monitoring the quality of the nation’s roads, despite its founding mandate to oversee and regulate road construction standards nationwide.

Professor Shamsul Hoque of the Department of Civil Engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), who is also a mega-project expert, told Prothom Alo, “A 40 per cent to 50 per cent variation is utterly unacceptable under any circumstances. The previous government pushed the economy to the brink of collapse through such luxury buildings and vanity projects. If the current government continues this pattern of extravagant spending using borrowed money, the citizens of this country will have to pay a massive price.”

He further said, “These luxury expenditures and the practice of altering items to favour contractors must be investigated by an independent committee. Otherwise, the people of this country will be burdened with debt for generations, eventually driving the nation into bankruptcy.”