Ecnec yesterday approved a revised project of Tk3,801.61 crore for laying new railway tracks from Khulna to Mongla Port after a feasibility study.
The project will be partly financed out of the Indian line of credit – the $1bn low-interest loan offered by the last Indian government to implement infrastructure projects that would ultimately aid connectivity between the two nations.
The cost of the revised project is twice the original.
Ecnec chair and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the projects at the 29th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council in Dhaka yesterday.
A total of nine development projects were approved with a total outlay of Tk5,868.52 crore, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters after the meeting. Of the nine projects approved yesterday, six are new and the rest are revised.
Of the total project cost, Tk2,270.19 crore will come from the state coffer, Tk30.94 crore from the relevant organisations’ own funds, and Tk3,547.39 crore as project assistance from India, said Kamal.
The government would provide Tk1,430.26 crore out of the Tk3,801.61 crore to lay the new railway track, and the remaining Tk2,371.35 crore would come from the Indian line of credit. Bangladesh Railway will implement the project by June 2018.
The revised project witnesses a 120% hike in cost; it was originally estimated at Tk1721.39 crore when first approved by the Ecnec in December 2010.
Under the project, a 65km broad gauge track along with 21km loop line will be laid.
A 717m rail bridge now has to be constructed over the Rupsha River due to the change in the rail route, accounting for the added cost, Planning Minister Kamal said.
Because of the change in alignment, a 12km additional track will have to be laid and more land will have to be acquired at an additional cost of Tk2,200 crore, the minister said.
Ecnec yesterday also approved a revised rehabilitation project for the Kulaura-Shahbajpur rail track in Moulavibazar worth Tk678 crore as the government has decided to reopen the route.
The government will provide Tk122 crore for the project while the remaining Tk556 crore will come from the Indian loan.
Under the project, the government plans to expand the 51km route to the Indian border by setting up an additional 9km track and converting it into dual-gauge to connect to the regional railway network and the Trans-Asian railway network in future.