The cabinet committee on public purchase has approved the proposal to raise by Tk36 crore the cost of upgrading Dhaka airport.
The cost rose as the consulting firm did not notice earlier that there was a four-feet layer of soil under the taxiway, which must be removed.
The proposal put forward by the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry was approved yesterday at the committee’s meeting, presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.
On January 30 last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the upgradation project which was supposed to be completed within two years of commissioning.
After yesterday’s meeting, Joint Secretary of Cabinet Division Mastafizur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) had agreed with the increased cost of the proposal, which is now Tk481 crore.
The original proposal estimated the cost to be Tk445 crore, provided by Danida as a grant. The government has exempted around Tk85 crore in duties on the import of equipment.
The revised proposal says the additional Tk36 crore will be needed by South African contractor Munch Asphalt for removing the clay from the taxiway and replacing it with suitable sand to reconstruct the pavement.
It says Danish consultant Ramboll did not notice the clay while preparing the plan.