DHAKA: Bangladesh government is proceeding on national visions for achieving dream of its economic development.

The targets are to achieve mid income country status by 2021 and developed economy status by 2040.

A small country of 160 million populations will require setting up very expensive infrastructures for supporting that economic development, huge investment, sustainable energy security and highly skilled human resources.

All these are interlinked and mutually dependent on one another.

This article will discuss about the country’s infrastructure development challenges.

Infrastructures:
Bangladesh will require a modern international airport with all equipments and facilities for working as regional hub like Singapore or Dubai.

The country will need a deep seaport with facilities like coal import terminal and LNG terminal, major improvement of facilities of existing seaports, expressways linking the major cities, satellite townships outside congested major cities, regeneration of silted rivers and waterways through regular dredging, metro-rail, elevated expressways, flyovers, mass-transit in major cities for managing gridlocks, modern drainage facilities for overcoming the prevailing waterlogging.

In addition to these, the country requires major development of power and energy infrastructure and telecommunication infrastructures.

All these requires national consensus, coordinated and regimented endeavor of all stakeholders involved in the development process.

Internal Resources Mobilization Challenges:
One of the major challenges for the government is mobilizing internal resources. Media reports evidence that not even 1% of the population pay regular taxes.

The country now has thousands of millionaires and hundred billionaires but hardly pay due taxes. All modern city dwellers have to pay a significant portion of their regular earnings as tax for government to spend in infrastructure development towards improvement of citizen’s living standard.

Simultaneous to economic development peoples buying power increases. But whenever in Bangladesh any government attempts to increase tax or adjust price of utility services everyone starts hue and cry.

If government cannot increase revenue earnings from internal resources it has to exclusively rely on generous financial support of bilateral and multilateral donors or development partners.

These days any assistance from development partners are tagged with many covenants and conditions.

Moreover, the fact that Bangladesh has come out of underdeveloped country status the generous support for donor agencies will be progressively diminished.

People have to pay tax, all profit earning businesses must pay VAT and people have to pay the economic prices of utility services.

Poor Governance and Weak State Owned Enterprises:
Government in a country like Bangladesh should restrict their businesses to farming rules, policies and guidelines and police their implementations.

Government must not get involved in operation of business. In Bangladesh, government is everywhere. Even Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has to get involved in almost many matters, which can be and must be resolved at much lower level.

Every state owned enterprise and every infrastructure development project have major involvement of line ministry.

State owned enterprises which plans and implements infrastructure projects have grown sick and weak. The reasons are too much bureaucratic interference, rampant politicization, corruption and mismanagement.

Thousands of government officers are serving as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) being politically victimized. They are getting salaries and benefits. But nation is being deprived from their contributions. If there are valid reasons for keeping them ineffective, they should be retired or disciplinary actions should be taken against them. But keeping hundred officers sitting idle and getting all facilities are waste of time.

Consequently, most of the major projects are possibly not taken up after required extensive techno-economic feasibility studies.

The project timeframe and budget are also made on a ad hoc basis. Consequently, many of these projects suffer from protracted delays in multi-tier government approval process.

When eventually the projects take off, poor project management, corruption and poor structures of the projects cause implementation delays, costs and time overrun.

Opposition of Activities Impedes Development:
It is always useful to engage actively the relevant stakeholders at the conceptual stage of any major project. The stakeholders are notable economists, senior academicians, social scientists, environmentalists, media and technical experts.

Free and open meetings and discussions may assist in developing pro-people development oriented project structures.

Bangladesh is suffering now from civil society opposition to some critical projects for ignoring the stakeholders. Precious own coal resources at mineable depth is lying underground, major initiative of an international airport at Arial Beel had to be shelved. An imported coal fired power generation project at Rampal in Bagerhat is getting credible opposition from a section of the civil society.

Even the mega projects at Matarbari Maheshkhali and Payra are also not discussed openly and freely with major stakeholders.

We are not sure whether these projects would also come under opposition of a section of civil society when it approaches take off stage.

The Major Infrastructures:
A high powered committee in PMO steers six major infrastructure projects as top priority national projects. The status of these projects are discussed and reviewed after regular interval. To our best knowledge the status of these is:

In addition to above, the government has adopted major power generation infrastructure projects, coal terminal and land based LNG terminal at Matarbari, Mokheskhali, Payra, Khulna and Chittagong.

Indian conglomerates Adani Group and Reliance Power are also pursuing their mega projects proposals in energy sector.

Russia, China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and even Poland are keen to invest in power and energy sector.

Requires Least Cost Fuel Option for Energy Generation:
The prime requisite for smooth functioning and operation of all infrastructures is sustainable energy security. The major challenge is securing the sustainable supply of fuel.

The depletion of own gas reserve and indecision of mining own coal are major worries. Bangladesh needs to import coal and LNG but at the same time the country, must start mining own coal and expedite exploration for hydrocarbon in onshore and offshore.

Exclusive reliance on imported fuel will create huge issues as own fuel will always remain the least cost fuel option. If own coal exploration does not start immediately Bangladesh may have to rely 92% on imported fuel and may get huge price shock.

Government has plans for developing modern planned satellite towns on either side of Padma River Bridge and an international airport on the other side of the river Padma.

Several 4 lane intercity highways are under implementation.

Government is also planning to recover four rivers around Dhaka city from illegal occupation, undertake capital dredging for retrieving all season navigability, and develop city circular river and road links.

We must appreciate all these mega projects implementation requires stable peace and political consensus. Citizens have to have patience. People must be pay due taxes, businesses must pay Vat and other government payable.

We all understand every Bangladeshi gets embarrassed when Dhaka is tagged as the second bottom worst livable city.

Government has plans and mega plans. But government without people’s active support and participation cannot do much.

All plans will remain as plans if the challenges to infrastructure are not professionally managed taking all relevant stakeholders on board.

BDST: 1551 HRS, SEP 19, 2015
RS/RR