The 16-Engineering Construction Battalion has once again shelved the development work of Dhanmondi Lake in the capital until December this year.
Earlier the development completion deadline was postponed twice.
The authorities concerned, however, on Thursday expressed hope that they could finish the work by December 15.
Project Officer Captain Md Anisur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have reached the final stages and hopefully the rest will be done by December 15.”
“Only some portions of the over-bridge are yet to be constructed,” he added.
About the delay Anisur Rahman said: “We needed additional time to revise and change the design of the scheme and to empty some plots of land in adjoining areas of the lake which had been illegally occupied.”
In 2011, the government took on the development project which covers approximately 39.2 hectares of the Dhanmondi Lake area from Road 32 to Road 6 in order to give a facelift to the greenery and make the area more attractive to a wider range of city dwellers.
The initiative was undertaken by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) as well as the Dhaka City Corporation (now Dhaka South City Corporation).
Later it was handed over to the 16-Engineering Construction Battalion under the Special Works Organisation of the Bangladesh Army for implementation with Vitti Sthapati Brindo working as the project consultant.
Project Officer Captain Anisur Rahman said under the project they had set up an orchid garden, a children park named Russel Sishutosh Angan beside the Kalabagan playground and also planted almost 50 thousand trees along the lake shore.
Other developments made under the project include the construction of 2km of walkway, 1.5km of drainage system, foot over-bridges at Kalabagan and Dhanomndi Road 8, installation of 10 pure drinking water points and the construction of four public toilets.
The project also repaired four existing bridges, 2km of walkway and installed a modern lighting system. Officials said maintenance and security of the lake would be ensured properly after completion of the project.
A visit to the project site revealed that most of the work has been completed with only the foot over bridge still under construction.
Ninety percent of the funding for the Tk245.3m project came from the LGRD and cooperatives ministry with the rest coming from the city corporation.