Nobody wants to be a project director now

Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud yesterday said officials are getting increasingly reluctant to take up the role of project director and contractors are showing diminished interest in working in development schemes.

This is due to reforms in public procurement rules, he said after the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council at the ministry in Dhaka.

He said the interim government's reforms have made procurement more transparent, ending monopolies and requiring contractors to disclose their full business and tax information.

"We could not speed up project implementation as nobody wants to become a project director now, and contractors are also less enthusiastic," he said.

He said that a few big companies had controlled contracts of major projects for years, including highways and railways, manipulating evaluations so only previous contractors benefited.

"Now, no one can monopolise the process, and false or proxy participation is not allowed," he said.

"Naturally, this makes some hesitant to come forward."

He also mentioned administrative hurdles, including shortages of project directors and temporary appointments in many ministries, which have slowed Annual Development Programme (ADP) implementation.

From July to October this fiscal year, only 8.33 percent of ADP allocations were spent, according to Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division data.

Mahmud, an eminent economist, said: "Though I'm not fully certain, corruption, extortion, and similar practices still exist in some form."

"But the scope for corruption through contracting has likely shrunk, creating hesitation among those who were previously accustomed to exploiting the system. [Contractors] are unsure whether the usual opportunities still exist."

The adviser also suggested caution when taking foreign-funded projects, particularly due to higher spending on unnecessary components, including foreign consultants.

"We must stop approving projects simply because development partners offer them. Many technical assistance projects have been ineffective -- foreign consultants stay in our offices, collect allowances, write reports, and do little meaningful work before leaving," he said.

"I have seen this repeatedly throughout my career. We want to break free from this reliance on foreign consultant-driven projects," he added.

However, he acknowledged that in some areas, Bangladesh genuinely needs

foreign expertise — for example, in upgrading technology in the garments sector, improving export diversification, microchip manufacturing, and large-scale assembly.

"We can learn these skills. We already assemble mobile phones and motorcycles, but we need to move to higher value addition. In these areas, foreign experts are necessary," he said.