Government of Bangladesh has announced a vision 2021 aiming to achieving mid income status by the golden jubilee year of independence. In general terms it will mean Bangladesh achieving sustainable economic development, food and energy security, quality education for all, better and affordable medical facilities, modern road, rail and telecommunication facilities, vastly improved law and order situation, greater connectivity with regional countries. Achieving all these will require functional democracy, accountable government, responsible media and civil society. All sectors will require major infrastructure projects development. Looking at the present state the vision 2021 to many may appear highly ambitious and extremely challenging to achieve. There are no denials that there are many issues and challenges. This write up in few installments will identify challenges and address the missions to overcome challenges.
Government has already adopted six key infrastructure development projects as top priority national projects. These are
Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project, Roopoor Nuclear Power Plant, Rampal Imported Coal Based Power Plant, Deep Sea Port, Metro Rail Project at Dhaka, LNG Terminal for import of LNG. Apart from above government has adopted few other mega projects in the power sector--two large imported coal fired power projects at Matarbari and Maheshkhali Islands of Cox’s Bazar, setting up infrastructure for exclusive economic Zone for Japan, China, Singapore and some other countries. Bangladesh is also planning to adopt Blue Economy initiative to explore and exploit huge potential maritime resources of vast area Bangladesh achieved through successful resolution of maritime boundary dispute with India and Myanmar.
Talks are also at different stages of maturity for a tunnel below Karnaphully River at Chittagong, Railway bridge beside Bangabandhu Bridge, a multifaceted modern International Airport, and Modern City on the far side of Padma Bridge. Bangladesh Government has also engaged more proactively with regional countries for road, rail, and power and energy grid connectivity.
It goes without saying a few of the projects mentioned above may take several years to even take off but once started after carrying out extensive feasibility studies, risks analysis, firm financial arrangements under qualified and accomplished team of committed management the projects will bring expected dividend. Bangladesh will step 2020s as a vibrant economy of dynamic nation.
Present Scenario: 
160 million people living in a small country have many different issues and challenges. Dhaka Mega City is struggling in ensuring energy, power, and water supply with its constrained supply infrastructure. Unbearable grid locks creates nuisance of different dimensions. Not only precious working hours are wasted on the roads but also this is causing serious health hazards.
Health, sanitation, education, law and order situation are at the edges. Unless implementable plans are immediately adopted to encourage a major portion of Dhaka population to move outside the city in decentralized growth centers even the planned infrastructure projects adopted for comforting the Dhaka city grid locks, facility constraints may fail to achieve desired objectives.
The gas, power, water, telecommunication facilities were not planned to ensure supply to 15 million populations. It can be upgraded to address the present shortages and the various initiates taken to address.
Bangladesh is handicapped for absence of an appropriate modern international airport. The Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is not only constraint for landing of wide Bodied Aircraft it also does not have required facilities for quick disposal of passenger luggage. Unaccompanied baggage is still manually dumped on conveyor belts and often takes hours if more than one aircrafts land at the same time. After spending several hours in the air passengers’ patience are severely stressed. Foreign investors reaching Dhaka get the first rude shock. After stepping out further shock waits from chronic grid locks on the Dhaka Street. It can often take even two hours in reaching City Centre from Dhaka.
Government tried to take up construction of a modern airport at Arial Bill. But shallow visioned civil society instigated common people and government plan had to be abandoned. Airport is the gate way of a nation and mirrors national image. There is no reason why Bangladesh cannot have a major international airport with state of the art modern facilities. Bangladesh is located on the cusp of Atlantic and Pacific Route. If Singapore can have Changi Airport on a reclaimed land, if Bangkok can have such a modern airport there is no reason why Bangladesh cannot have.
Government has taken up several initiatives for confronting managing Dhaka gridlocks. Metro Rail, Elevated Expressway, several flyovers, ring road around the city if implemented can act to improve the messy traffic situation of Dhaka.
Dhaka is blessed with four major rivers circling it around. Buriganga, Sitalakhya, Balu and Turag if can be recovered from illegal occupants and dredged to regain their all season navigability can be great sources of riverine transportation. Many major cities have effectively and economically utilized the rivers and waterways around the cities. The Dhaka Rivers can also turn into major sources of irrigation and potable water on setting up of water treatment plants. Several canals which once used to make Dhaka a green lovely city can be recovered like Hatirjheel can make Dhaka a dream city. But this can be a huge challenge as most of these are under illegal occupations. City ring roads, ring railway and ring mains for gas, electricity networks can also effectively address utility supply issues.
Government must also implement plans for relocating some major establishments like Central Secretariat, BGB HQ, Army HQ, RMG factories from the present locations to appropriate places. There is no useful purpose of leaving huge open spaces of old Dhaka Airport for a very limited utility. If BGB HQ and Old Airport area can be freed many Schools, Academic Institutions, Clinics, Hospitals, Business Offices crowing residential areas of Dhanmondi, Banani, and Gulshan can be relocated easing city congestions. RMG factories must be moved out to properly designed RMG villages out of the city as soon as possible. This alone can free constrained Dhaka city utility supply to a great extent.
Some of the major Academic institutions like Dhaka University, BUET, Jagannath University, DMCH, and Salimullah Medical University can open major campus outside Dhaka city at Keraniganj, Gazipur and Tangail. These will free Dhaka City of grid locks to some extent.
Few Dhaka City and Chittagong City Flyovers, Metro Rail, Elevated Expressway, 4 Lane Dhaka–Chittagong and Dhaka–Mymensingh Highways under implementation are suffering from land acquisitions, underground buried utility services mess and other barriers and impediments. There appears to be lack of coordination among different agencies and lack of project management skills also cause issues. We hope proper monitoring and control of PMO will work to solve issues expeditiously. Delay inflates costs, creates miseries and frustrates people.
Energy Sector:
The key instrument for most of these would be sustainable energy security – availability, accessibility and affordability to energy most at economic price. Government has also announced a vision of power to all by 2021. Government is planning to increase power generation to 24,000 MW by 2021 from the present installed capacity of about 11000MW. Even now for fuel supply constraints it is not possible to consistently generate over 7000 MW. Several mega projects for increasing power generation requires required technical and managerial capacity development for financial management, contract negotiation, project implementation management , operation and maintenance . Our mono fuel natural gas dependency is now being changed to diversified fuel mix. For prolonged indecision about own coal exploration and exploitation Bangladesh has adopted imported fuel based power generation as preferred option for midterm. This will require in setting up enabling import infrastructure – coal ports, LNG terminals, storage facilities. These are not only very expensive. But all these will require technology transfer and development of core competence.
Bangladesh has adopted the following major energy projects in the Power and Energy Sector
• Rooppur Nuclear Power Project
• Rampal Imported Coal Based Power Generation Project
• Imported Coal Fired Power Plants at Moheskhlai and Matarbari, Cox’s Bazar
• LNG Import Terminal at Moheskhali and Maheshkhali to Chittagong Gas System Gas Transmission Pipeline.
In addition to above Government is engaged with India for importing more power from India and also was a party to SAARC energy trading framework agreement.
All energy infrastructure projects have associated risks and impacts. An environment impact of major infrastructure is a huge issue for Bangladesh as it is also extremely vulnerable climate change from emissions.
(To be continued)
BDST: 1043 HRS, DEC 13, 2014
