AIIB-funded projects also run into Covid-19 brick wall

Progress of most Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)-funded projects has been slow due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a review of the Economic Relations Division (ERD).

Officials of the ERD said only three AIIB-funded projects — the DESCO Distribution System Upgradation and Expansion Project, Titas Natural Gas Infrastructure and Efficiency Improvement Project, and the Feasibility Study and Detailed Design of Kewatkhali Bridge project — have seen some progress, despite also being delayed.

The other four projects, however, are progressing at a snail’s pace.

For instance, the $200 million Dhaka and Western Zone Transmission Grid Expansion Project has only seen 0.06% physical progress, according to a review meeting held last week on the projects of the Beijing-based lender.

The project was supposed to be completed by December 31, 2019.

Similarly, the Bangladesh Municipal and Water Supply and Sanitation Project, which received $100 million loan from the AIIB, has only seen 5% physical and 1% financial progress, according to the meeting minutes.

The project which started in October 2019 is supposed to finish by December 31, 2024.

At the meeting, there was no update on the Covid-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program as nobody from the Finance Division attended the meeting.

The Expansion and Strengthening of Power System Network under Chattogram Area project will take more time as the Development Project Proforma (DPP) needs to be revised, its project director said at the meeting.

The project began in December 2018 and is supposed to be completed by December 2022.

Meanwhile, the Feasibility Study and Detailed Design of Kewatkhali Bridge project, worth $269.8 million, is almost complete and its financial progress is at 50.16 percent.

It was scheduled to be completed in June 2020 but due to Covid-19 pandemic, it could not be completed. It will be finished by next July, according to the meeting minutes.

Dhaka Electric Supply Company’s (DESCO’s) Distribution System Upgradation and Expansion Project worth $165 million started on June 24, 2016.

Physical progress of the first part of an installation and conversion of 33KV overhead lines into underground cables in the DESCO area is 93.41 percent complete, while the financial progress is 77.20 percent complete.

The project completion period has been extended for one year up to June 2021.

Remaining work on the project will be completed at less than the estimated cost. The project authority will revise the estimated cost soon and will send it to ERD by June 2021, so that the unspent money can be returned to save on commitment fees and other related charges.

Work on the second part of the project, i.e., design, supply and installation of 132/33 KV Grid substation at Uttara and Bashundhara, has been hampered by Covid-19, the project director said at the meeting.

Therefore, the project completion time has been extended for six months up to December 2020. But the physical work of the project was completed in August. The financial part will be completed by December 2020 and $0.62 million will remain unspent.

Meanwhile, the Natural Gas Installation and Efficiency Improvement project of $60 million is expected to be completed on June 30, 2022.

The first part, installation of wellhead compressor at location-A of Titas gas field, began in July 2016 and was supposed to be completed by December 2020. So far, physical progress of the project is 26.14% and financial progress is 13.1%.

Physical progress of the second part of the project — construction of Chattogram-Feni-Bakhrabad Gas Transmission parallel pipeline — is 90% complete and the financial progress is 87.28% complete.

While chairing the meeting, Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, joint secretary of ERD and member of the board of directors of AIIB, said that more such meetings would be required to expedite progress of the projects.