The eight-storey academy building project was under the five-year Health and Population Sectorwise Programme(HPSP) funded by the World Bank, but the construction hit the rocks as the HPSP was over in 2003, said a superintendent engineer of the Construction Management and Maintenance Unit (CMMU) of the health ministry.

The project also features a morgue, a 700-seater auditorium and a canteen.

The construction of the Tk 15.77crore academic building began in June 2002 and the CMMU was able to transfer a fund of Tk 4.1 crore to the Public Works Department until 2003.

"Only 20 percent of the construction was complete before it stopped due to lack of funds. The project was scheduled to be complete by June 2004, which now seems unlikely," said a source in the construction firm.

"Although the World Bank will reimburse eight percent of the total cost, the government needs to spend its own funds first to go ahead with the work to get the reimbursement," the engineer said.

The health ministry is now trying to put the project under another WB programme -- the Health, Nutrition and Population Sectorwise Programme.

"Authorities will send the project to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on February 11 for review that will decide on the academic building," the engineer added.

"Salimullah Medical School was upgraded to college after independence, but its infrastructure did not develop like other medical colleges. It's necessary to have an academic building for the students" said M Abdullah, the principal of the college.

"Classes take place in the hospital which is already overcrowded with patients," a college teacher said.

"The hospital has no proper morgue, which is hampering post-mortem," said a fourth year student of the college.