The implementation progress of the troubled BRT project slowed down again as the two Chinese contractors have failed to achieve the monthly targets, sources said.
They said the contractors could not mobilise construction materials for not being able to pay the arrears on bills of suppliers.
Following the fatal girder accident, the project work got momentum and went well for the last few months.
"This project work has never been on track since the beginning, but the scenario was different for a few months after the August accident," said a source having knowledge on the project.
He said the project office has already informed the headquarters of the companies as well as the Chinese Embassy here about the development, but got no response yet.
The government has taken the BRT project to develop a bus-based mass transit corridor from Gazipur to the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
The construction work began on April 13, 2017 and faced setbacks on different occasions since then. The construction work was affected by, among other reasons, frequent changes in designs.
Following the accident the China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), which is responsible for construction of the grade road, stations and some flyovers, has been allowed to continue its work with commitment to complete the work quickly and meet safety compliance.
The Jiangsu Provincial Transportation Engineering Group Co Limited of China, which is responsible for construction of the 4.5-kilometre elevated part of the 20km corridor has also been asked to speed up the implementation process.
The two companies got the work at 6.0 per cent and 20 per cent less than the estimated cost of their respective works.
After resumption of the construction work in October last, the project office declared a tentative schedule of opening the corridor in June this year.
The FE correspondent visited the site last week and found comparatively good progress of the elevated structure, but the safety measures were found breached at various points.
The project officials said construction of the connecting roads has been carried out while development work at the Gazipur Chourasta was going on in full swing.
However, they admitted that only eight out of 17 ramps were completed and one out of three at Gazipur Chourasta is under construction.
The official record until January last showed that the project lost 231 per cent time in the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) part of work and 204 per cent in the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) part while the project is 13 per cent and 19 per cent behind the schedule in the two parts respectively.
RHD's BRT Project Director ASM Elias Shah said that though the Chinese company increased its manpower and financing after the accident, those were not enough to speed up the process.
"We're lagging behind the target almost every month … something more needs to be done to cover up the time," he told the FE at his office.
It is learnt that the Chinese companies received funds from their parent companies after the accident, but it was not continued later.
However, they continued the work with proceeds from the project office in local currency against their already implemented work and paying the arrears of suppliers.
BBA's project office sources said they have recently made full payment to its Chinese company in local currency so that they can speed up the work.
