The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) will spend a whopping Tk 3.13 million per kilometre for installing traffic signs and signals on a zonal road in Tangail.
The road developer proposed to invest Tk 89.2 million in developing road signs and signals in widening the 28.5-km Tangail-Delduar-Lawhati-Saturia-Kawalipara-Kalampur bus stand road, insiders said on Wednesday.
It has recently sought approval from the Planning Commission (PC) to execute the Tk 13.42-billion scheme.
According to the proposal, the RHD will widen the road at the range between 7.3 metres and 10.3 metres.
A PC official said they had been strictly scrutinising the project as costs of some components seemed higher.
As proposed, the RHD will install 25 overhead signs at Tk 0.96 million for each on the 28.5-km road.
The total costs for overhead signs have been estimated at Tk 254 million.
Besides, the RHD will spend Tk 0.253 million each on establishing 58 directional sign boards (for traffic).
The total investment for the purpose will require Tk 14.7 million.
For colour road marking, the national road authorities have proposed to spend Tk 14.311 million.
"The overall cost is comparatively higher than other proposed or ongoing projects of the RHD. We're strictly reviewing the estimation," added the official. "We'll discuss in detail during our evaluation committee meeting," he cited.
Seeking anonymity, another official said the RHD sought much lower funds for fixing similar equipment in a 47-km regional highway-widening project in Tangail.
It had proposed for Tk 68.92 million for traffic signs and signals for the highway project, he told the FE.
As proposed, the RHD will invest Tk 6.71 billion in the zonal road-widening work and the rest for land acquisition, road sign and marking, and some less priority work. It sought to spend Tk 6.12 billion, 46 per cent of the total Tk 13.42 billion, on land acquisition alone.
If a zonal road-widening project requires nearly half the total cost for land acquisition alone, the PC official says, its rate of return will be very low. The RHD also proposed some less-priority spending like honorarium, lab testing and survey tools, tree uprooting and plantation, road maintenance and utility shifting, thus mounting the overall cost, he added.
The road-widening project is due for completion by June 2023.
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