Biggest Road Safety Project: Concern rising over fate of WB fund

A year of the stipulated 18 months gone, govt yet to approve the project; roads secy sees no uncertainty The World Bank in March last year approved a loan for the biggest road safety project in Bangladesh and the loan contract with Bangladesh authorities has to be signed within one and a half years of the approval. Otherwise, the loan would be cancelled, said officials.

One year has already gone by, but the project has not been approved yet, a pre-condition for signing the loan deal, rising concern over the fate of the project’s funding, they said.

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The Tk 4,988.14 crore project now has to get the nod within three or four months by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, because it takes some time to issue office order regarding the approval, they added. After latest changes in the Development Project Proposal, the Roads and Highways Department, the lead implementing agency of the project, re-submitted it to the Road Transport and Highways Division on Sunday. Any project, after submission of the DPP by the implementing agency concerned, usually goes through a lengthy process that include several meetings involving different agencies.

It takes quite a long time. So, the fate of the project depends how quickly the process will be completed and how fast the Ecnec approves it, the officials said. The deadline for the project is June 2028.

The project proposal is now with the Planning Commission and its approval is expected soon

— ABM Amin Ullah Nuri Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary The delays over the project approval are taking place when road safety issue has become a major concern as thousands of people are getting killed or maimed every year. The issue came to the fore again after a bus, which had no fitness clearance, veered off the Dhaka-Bhanga expressway and crashed, killing 19 people last month.

Contacted, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri said the project proposal is now with the Planning Commission and its approval is expected soon. In reply to a query, he told The Daily Star last night, “There is no risk over not getting the fund. The project will be approved within the timeline.”

THE PROJECT The World Bank, in its appraisal report prepared for financing a road safety project in Bangladesh in 2021, said different bodies exist in Bangladesh to ensure road safety, but they are not empowered and lack effective coordination to get expected outcomes. These organisations are also not held accountable.

Besides, the fund allocated for road safety action plans is insufficient, not prioritised, and has never been institutionalised, it said. The multi-lateral financer carried out several studies before taking the final decision regarding the loan. Meanwhile, in September 2021, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at an event alleged that the WB was delaying its decision to finance Bangladesh’s road safety project, despite repeatedly expressing interest.

The WB on August 28 last year approved £358 million loan to help Bangladesh improve road safety, and reduce fatalities and injuries from road accidents in selected high-risk highways and district roads. The project will have several components and will be implemented by the RHD, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, Directorate General of Health Services and Bangladesh Police. It will pilot comprehensive road safety measures, including improved engineering designs, road signs and markings, pedestrian facilities, speed enforcement, and emergency care from Gazipur to Elenga and Natore-Nawabganj highways.

These measures will help reduce road traffic deaths by more than 30 percent on these two highways, the WB hoped. The project will also undertake road safety pilots in selected urban areas and district roads. It will improve post-crash care, which is critical in saving lives, and will also set up an ambulance service via a toll-free number and upgraded emergency care services in selected district hospitals, and upazila health complexes along the two national highway corridors.

DELAY IN PROJECT APPROVAL Upon receiving the DPP, the Planning Commission in February 2022 asked project implementation agencies to recast it with the answer of more than 20 queries, said RHD sources. In December last year, the DPP was re-submitted with an estimated cost of Tk 4,951.52 crore.

But the Planning Commission in March this year asked answers for 14 more quarries. RHD submitted the DPP to the Road Transport and Highways Division again late last month. But the division raised some queries and the DPP was resent with all answers on Sunday, they said.

The project cost stood at Tk 4,988.14 crore now following an increase in US dollar rate.

The WB is supposed to give Tk 3,759.82 crore in the project and the government is to provide Tk 1,228.32 crore, they added.

Involvement of three other agencies and the delay in getting necessary information to answer the queries are one of the major reasons for the delay, said a top RHD official.

References

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