Infrastructure of the BKSP Women’s Training Complex in Savar differs in many ways from the design given in the Development Project Proposal (DPP), a report by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) has found.
According to the IMED survey, the design given in the DPP and the architectural design of the installations made by the consultant have undergone extensive changes.
The size of the column, the distance between columns, and even the depth of the beams, have been found to vary largely from the initially proposed design.
Asked about the discrepancy between the actual work and the design, Project Director Rokon Uddin Ahmed told Dhaka Tribune: “We will officially inform the relevant departments about the changes soon; we are working on it.”
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But IMED Secretary Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty said that if the design passed in the DPP has to be changed for the better, the project implementing agency has to go through a proper process.
In 2016, the government even issued a notice in this regard, he added.
In order to resolve the issue amicably, the IMED has recommended a quick post-factual approval stating why the overall reshuffle has been done, including the design changes, and how the expenditure has been adjusted.
Under the project, the budget of which is Tk47.36 core, the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) was supposed to build a 10-storey hostel building, an indoor cricket centre, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a cricket field gallery, boundary wall, road, garage, drain, and substation. Lighting for the area and furniture for the complex is also covered under the project cost.
Top: Outdoors swimming pool of the BKSP women's training complex in Savar.
Bottom: Gymnasium of the of the BKSP women's training complex .
The project, taken up by the government in the interest of women athletes of the country, is also supposed to cover the cost of hiring local and foreign coaches and meet training expenses.
Scheduled to be implemented between June 2017 and June 2020, the first phase of the project has been extended to June 2022 due to poor progress.
But the IMED report says it will not be possible to complete the project before December 2022.
IMED, under the Ministry of Planning, is also not satisfied with the quality of the construction work and other design flaws.
For instance, questions have been raised about the glass railings built on each floor of the 10-storey building, which are lower than the normal height and pose risk of accidents.
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The IMED has also expressed concern that no opinion was taken from the potential beneficiaries of the project — the female trainees — while designing the complex.
As a result, the hostel has been built on the opposite side of the practice field, which took extra time as the land is lower on that side of the complex.
Moreover, the swimming pool is outdoors, meaning its maintenance costs will be higher than an indoor one. Female athletes also have reservations about swimming in an outdoor pool.
In addition, in many cases, the BKSP did not feel the need to follow due process in procurement documents, work orders and contracts, the IMED report found.
The complex has been able to start training with 114 women athletes, although the project spoke of 200 trainees. For the time being though, the complex is closed due to the pandemic.
