Construction of Saikat Complex uncertain

Site for construction of Motel Saikat, left, and the foundation stone, right, laid by the prime minister in 2004.

BPC took the project of Tk 82.55 crore, scheduled to be completed by 2006, to provide world-class services to the tourists and promote tourism in the port city.

Sources at BPC blamed the bureaucratic tangle for the delay in implementing the project.

The construction could not be started as the project is yet to get approval from the purchase committee of the ministry concerned, they said.

To implement the project, the authorities demolished the previous four-storey motel complex at Station Road in the city immediately after the foundation stone was laid on April 19 in 2004.

BPC now runs the Motel Saikat at a rented space on the first floor of Chittagong New Railway Station building and spends around Tk 70,000, including rent and bills for utility services, a month.

The motel now has only 14 rooms with double beds without any modern facility. They don't have facilities for the foreign tourists. Only two rooms are air-conditioned.

The motel charge Tk 1000 for each air-conditioned (AC) room and Tk 500 for non-AC room, sources said.

There is no electric generator for uninterrupted power supply when the frequent power failure creates an unbearable situation.

Besides, the boarders are to take foods outside the motel as there is no restaurant facility for them.

The situation discourages the local tourists and the foreign tourists do not come here, said a BPC staff on condition of anonymity.

Motel Saikat now has a mere sale of Tk 60,000 to one lakh a month whereas it had a monthly profit of over Tk 3 lakh. Earlier, the government would get handsome revenue as VAT (Value Added Tax) from it, sources said.

Meanwhile, the authorities have already transferred 27 of the 40 staffs to other places as the project has become uncertain.

BPC entrusted Engineers Consultants Associates Limited with the responsibility of implementing the project with the technical assistance from the Inter Design Limited of Thailand.

It planned to raise the eight-storey Saikat Complex with modern architectural designs on one acre of land.

The complex was to house a huge car parking lot, shops and departmental stores on the first three floors, bank and insurance offices on third floor, tourist information centre, a 300-seat hall room and 200-seat restaurant, including swimming pool and bar on the fourth floor and residential hotel of three-star standard for the tourists on fifth, sixth and seventh floors.

"For possessions of different business establishments at the complex, the rate was fixed at Tk10,500 to Tk 12,000 per square feet," said BPC General Manager (Works) Abul Kashem in Dhaka over phone.

He said, "Having the complex adjoining the busy commercial and business centres like New Market, Reazuddin Bazar as well as Chittagong Railway Station and bus terminals of Station Road and Kadamtali we expected a tremendous response."

"But, we are yet to have expected response," he added.

In order to implement the project by own fund BPC gave advertisements in different dailies for space booking in the Saikat Complex, which failed to draw satisfactory response, sources at BPC said.

The authorities sold a total of 426 forms for handing over 260 possessions while only 19 of them were submitted so far.