The transport sector has received the biggest share of development allocation, around Tk234.64bn, under the proposed FY2015-16 budget.
The amount is around 23.8% of the total Tk985.87bn development budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Padma Bridge project, a high-priority fast-track project of the government, would alone get around Tk7,400 crore – the highest allocation for a single project for the FY2015-16.
“Considerable progress has been made in the construction of the long-awaited Padma Bridge with domestic financing. We expect to open the bridge for transportation by 2018,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said during his budget speech Thursday.
Also focusing on reducing Dhaka's traffic jam, he recommended allocating Tk350 crore for the metro rail (MRT line 6) project and Tk600 crore for Dhaka Elevated Expressway.
“We have started the construction of metro rail line 6 to ease traffic congestion in Dhaka city. We are expecting to complete it by 2019.
“The much-awaited Dhaka-Chittagong and Joydebpur-Mymensingh Highways four-lane projects will be completed this year,” the minister added.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the China Communication Company Ltd to construct a tunnel underneath the Karnaphuli River, Muhith said.
Speaking on the rail sector, he said: “'We will bring Meherpur district under the rail network, launch rail service on the Padma Bridge, construct a rail bridge on the northern side of the Bangabandhu Bridge on the river Jamuna, construct third and fourth dual-gauge lines in the Dhaka-Tongi and dual-gauge double line in the Tongi-Joydebpur sections, and construct a parallel dual-gauge line along the existing meter-gauge line of Dhaka -Narayanganj section.
“As part of expanding the regional rail network, Akhaura-Agartala rail connectivity will be established,” the minister added.
Regarding development work in marine transport sector, Muhith said: “Steps have been taken to develop the port infrastructure with our own funds in the preparatory stage of construction of fast-track Paira Port project. In order to develop the Mongla seaport, a project has been taken to procure container and cargo handling machinery.”
However, the minister did not mention how much money would be needed to implement the projects.
Commenting on the proposals, Jamilur Reza Choudhury, renowned academician and a specialist on the sector, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The government has emphasised to take some new mega projects for improving the transportation sector. But some old projects are yet to be implemented. So the money was wasted and the people suffered. We need integrated projects to develop the sector.”
Md Mujibur Rahman, a professor at Buet's civil engineering department, said it was logical for the government to emphasise on the transportation sector, as it is never possible to bring any change to the economy without developing this sector.
The success of the initiatives, however, depends on how befitting the sector's projects are in context of the country's socio-economic situation, he pointed out.
