4-year BSCIC project now entering 14th year

A four-year industrial park project undertaken by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in Sirajganj will enter its 14th year of construction due to delays in land acquisition and difficulties in obtaining approval from relevant ministries.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved the project for the fourth time without increasing costs. Previously, the project cost had risen three times during revisions.

However, the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) asked to complete all remaining works by 2024 and recommended not to extend the deadline further.

Aiming to create one lakh jobs, spur economic activity and reduce poverty in the northern districts, the industries ministry took up the project in 2014 at a cost of Tk 379 crore.

The project was later revised for the first time, increasing costs to Tk 489.96 crore and extending the deadline to 2015.

The project endured two more revisions, taking costs to Tk 628.10 crore and then to Tk 719.21 crore while the deadline was extended once to June 2019 and then again to June 2021.

There were three further extensions until June 2023 but costs were not increased, according to planning commission documents.

The park covers 400 acres at Saidabad and Kalia Haripur in Sirajganj, which is expected to have around 801 industrial plots.

A total of 570 export-oriented and import-substitute domestic mills and factories will be set up in the industrial park, officials said.

Speaking to The Daily Star, project director Jafar Bayezid said they had completed 84 percent of the physical work and expressed optimism to complete the rest of work in line with IMED's recommendations.

"A major gap remains in the construction of drainage, with around 70 percent work still to be done, and roads, with 60 percent of work left. We may complete it before the deadline," he said.

Bayezid blamed land acquisition and approval from different authorities taking too much time as reasons for the delays.

"We were handed over the land in 2014 but were unable to start work due to a lack of necessary approval from different authorities," said Bayezid.

"After getting environmental clearance, clearance from the water ministry and other official papers, land development work began in 2019. Price revisions were in tune with the situation as of that moment."

Meanwhile, the Ecnec yesterday approved 19 projects worth Tk 18,066 crore at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Mongla Port development project was approved at a cost of Tk 4,282.36 crore. The Chinese government is set to provide Tk 3,782.36 crore in loan under a government-to-government mechanism.

The remaining Tk 500.39 crore will be financed by the Bangladesh government. The project deadline is June 2027.

Another project, aimed at enhancing power infrastructure in the southern part of Chattogram division and Bangabandhu Hi-tech City in Gazipur, was also approved.

Other projects included further development of Bangladesh Agriculture University at a cost of Tk 363 crore, the "Conservation and Rehabilitation of Chandpur City" worth Tk 827 crore and the "Building roads, bridges, culverts and rehabilitation for Sunamganj and Habiganj areas damaged by flood in 2022" worth Tk 2,681 crore.