ECNEC okays Tk 4089.59cr more for land acquisition

The government has enhanced the cost for Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil road upgradation by Tk 4089.59 crore and extended time by two more years for land acquisition and utility transfer purposes.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved the extended project styled “Land Acquisition and Utility Transfer Project: Support to Improve Dhaka (Kanchpur)-Sylhet-Tamabil Highways into four-Lane and separate service lanes on both sides.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the ECNEC meeting held at the National Economic Council (NEC) conference room. The premier joined the meeting through videoconferencing from her official residence Gonobhaban.

After the ECNEC meeting, Member of the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission Mamun Al Rashid told reporters that this extended project is only for land acquisition and utility purpose. The cost and time has been extended.

“The cost of the project has been increased by Tk 4059.59 crore along with time that has been extended by two more years,” he added.

Mamun Al Rashid said the cost has gone high due to rise in compensation rate provided by the government.

“Earlier, the government rated compensation 1.5 times the land value, but now the government is giving compensation three times the value of the land to their owners as per the new Land Acquisition Policy. So the cost of the project has increased,” he also said.

The project cost is now estimated at Tk 7,975 crore which will come from the government exchequer.

The Roads and Highways Department will implement the project by December 2023.

Initially, the cost was estimated at Tk 3885.72 crore and the time frame of project implementation was scheduled on December 2020.

But the implementing agency had extended one more year for completing the project with special revision.

According to the revised proposal, 1378.80 acres of land will be needed for implementing the project covering Narayanganj, Narsingdhi, Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, and Sylhet districts.

The lanes of the highways will be upgraded from two to four with a view to creating a major corridor for expansion of sub-regional trade and communication with the greater Sylhet region from the capital Dhaka and subsequently beyond the Bangladesh border.

Briefing the reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said a total of 10 projects were approved on Tuesday involving an overall estimated cost of Tk 8,804.10 crore.

“Of the total project cost, Tk 8,515.87 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh and Tk 120.78 crore from the respective organisation’s own fund while the rest of Tk 167.45 crore as project assistance,” he added.