The prolonged delay in the completion of the Shaheed Wasim Akram Elevated Expressway in Chittagong is a disappointment for the city's commuters, as well as another reminder of a familiar weakness in Bangladesh's approach to public infrastructure.
More than three years after its inauguration, key access ramps remain unfinished, leaving the expressway unable to deliver the congestion relief and connectivity improvements it was designed to provide.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case: Delays, deadline extensions, and spiralling project costs have become recurring features of many large-scale public works across the country.
Whether the reasons are design changes, bureaucratic bottlenecks, land acquisition complications, or poor coordination among government agencies, the outcome is invariably the same: The public is made to pay the price.
The economic consequences of such delays are substantial. Every postponed completion means productivity lost to traffic congestion, businesses burdened by higher transportation costs, and investors left questioning the efficiency of project implementation.
Cost overruns place additional pressure on public finances, diverting resources that could otherwise support healthcare, education, or other critical development priorities.
Ordinary citizens, meanwhile, continue to endure longer commutes, higher fuel consumption, and unnecessary frustration while waiting for infrastructure that should already be serving them.
Bangladesh has rightly invested heavily in modern infrastructure as a cornerstone of its development ambitions. However, actually completing them on time and to the required standard is equally essential.
This requires more rigorous project planning, realistic timelines, stronger coordination among implementing agencies, faster resolution of land acquisition disputes, and independent monitoring to identify delays before they become chronic.
Officials must also be held accountable when avoidable inefficiencies repeatedly derail project schedules.
Infrastructure projects should be measured not by the promises of change that they offer, but by the benefits they deliver. Bringing an end to this culture of delays is essential if public investments are to generate their intended returns.
