“It was specifically a failure to carry out feasibility study properly, preparing DPP without following feasibility study and non-identification of elements of the project [initially],” said an IMED assessment report in June 2018.

The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) report mentioned delay in land acquisition and utility shifting, non-implementation of environmental impact assessment, lack of planning in procuring goods, slow pace of construction work, and absence of measures to control overweight as other weaknesses of the project.

Md Ishaque, the project director, told this newspaper on January 26 that they would not be able to meet the previously revised deadline, June this year, as the contractors would not be able to complete most of the flyovers and separate lanes for slow-moving vehicles by this time.


Photo: Mirza Shakil
Last month, the project authorities sent a special revision proposal to the road transport and bridges ministry to increase project costs by Tk 621 crore; it is now awaiting approval at the planning ministry, said project officials.

According to the IMED report, however, the project would require even more funds in the near future to construct more separate lanes by 2023 at various busy parts of the road to cope with the ever growing number of vehicles.

The IMED is a separate division under the planning ministry which evaluates all government development projects.