It's very surprising to note that the road construction cost in Bangladesh is the highest in the world in spite of the fact that the labour cost is very cheap here, according to a report in the FE early this week.
Although construction cost has registered a sharp rise over the years, the quality has declined as roads are not designed properly considering the increased flow of traffic -- mainly heavy vehicles and their load. The load capacity of the roads is not increasing because of the use of substandard construction materials.
Lack of accountability of the road construction firms is, in fact, the major reason behind high road construction cost and poor quality. Political clout is allegedly dominating the country's construction firms. As such, when such firms fail to maintain proper design and quality during road construction, none dare make them accountable.
Inefficient knowledge of construction and corruption in material purchases are the other reasons behind the exorbitant cost of road construction and poor quality of work. Also, there is a lack of monitoring on the part of the government agencies. All these things lead to the quick destruction of road surface.
There is no denying that good road design, proper implementation, use of quality materials, load management, strong monitoring and timely implementation of projects are critically important to ensure quality road construction at reasonable costs.
Road construction implementing agencies claim over 2,000 kilometres (kms) of roads are needed to repair every year only because of the vehicles that run overloaded. They say there are 0.2.8 million kms of roads under the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) while some 21.03 km of highways and district roads under the Road Transport and Highways Division.
The bridge construction scenario is, however, a little different. Most bridges are being constructed in the country ensuring international standard with strong monitoring. Jamuna Bridge was constructed nearly 20 years back, and it's still in good shape. Padma Bridge is also being constructed maintaining the international standard, say analysts.
In case of roads, if any small hole is found in any road, it's not fixed immediately. The authorities concerned wait for repair until most parts of the road get damaged. Such practice is damaging as it increases the maintenance cost. Roads will have to be kept free from rainwater stagnation as water is the biggest enemy to bitumen. Roads and highways must be constructed with good designs so that rainwater can easily and promptly pass through.
On the other hand, road foundation should be much stronger for its sustainability. The pavement should also be constructed ensuring proper compactness and heat. The construction cost is bound to come down, if the projects are implemented timely without extending their deadlines.
Designs of the highways are generally made with 20 years' life span allowing the highest 10-tonne load vehicles. But the vehicles permitted to carry 10 tonnes usually carry up to 20 to 30 tonnes of goods. As a result, the roads get damaged when two-axle vehicles pass on those carrying over 30 tonnes of goods.
Country-wise, Bangladesh spends much higher amounts than India and China on construction of roads particularly because of time overrun and lack of competitive bidding. On an average, a four-lane highway costs $1.1m to $1.3m a km in India and $1.3m-$1.6m in China. But in Bangladesh, it is unbelievably high. For a km of four lane highway, the cost hovers between $2.5 and $11.9, the highest in the world, according to a WB report.
For example, the WB report says, the estimated cost of construction was $6.6m a km of Rangpur-Hatikumrul four-lane highway, $7m of Dhaka-Sylhet four-lane highway, $11.9m of Dhaka-Mawa four-lane highway and $2.5m of each of Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane highways.
According to the study, factors that push up construction cost in developing countries include terrain ruggedness and proximity to markets, inadequate tender competition, delays in project implementation, conflict and higher level of corruption. Costs of infrastructures particularly in the roads and bridges vary from country to country because of varying expenses for land acquisition and materials.
What is needed for Bangladesh, according to the WB, is that projects under 10 ministries with large development allocation should come under intense monitoring. Low performing projects should be identified and consultants need to be engaged to resolve the problems. Coordination between the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and development partners should be bolstered to ease fund release of aid-recipient projects.
There should be a pool of project directors, providing training and expanding electronic government procurement (e-GP) to increase transparency and accountability of the road construction projects.
All said and done, the government does need to form a separate body or committee involving experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and officials from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to monitor road construction work.
