Cost overruns and missed deadlines

The initial cost of the Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover was Tk 7.73 billion and original completion of the project was December 2014. Not only did it miss the first deadline but got an extension till December 2015 and now it has been given a new lease till July 2017! The cost of the extension is equivalent to Tk 446 crore which has been authorised by the National Economic Council (Ecnec) since there are "a few structural changes" in the offing. Needless to say, the residents of Moghbazar and Mouchak in particular, have been counting the cost of living with dust and horrendous traffic jams for the past couple of years.

What we would like to ask is why we are looking at structural changes so late in the day and why the present layout needs to be changed now. Has it anything to do with having a flawed layout to begin with? Why must the prime minister have to step in to point out the obvious that the ramp of the flyover should be extended beyond the FDC level crossing? Should the obvious not have been clear to the traffic and engineering planners when the project was conceived? 

Again, we find it astonishing that no proper mapping of the route was done prior to construction. Had that been done by the relevant authority, we would know precisely which utility company had laid their pipes and cables underground, and the project would not have to face inordinate delays to rectify routes. At the end of the day, we find that cost overruns and delayed project executions have become a common feature of public projects. The taxpayers' money could be better spent with better planning.