Bangladesh’s ambitious push to improve its infrastructure has faced significant setbacks, as a government task force report reveals that the costs of eight mega projects have surged by $7.52 billion, a staggering 68 percent increase from their initial estimates. The report attributes these increases primarily to corruption, poor feasibility studies, and prolonged delays in execution. These issues, combined with administrative mismanagement and political interference, have raised concerns about the governance and efficiency of major infrastructure projects in the country.

The projects in question were initially estimated at $11.2 billion, but their total costs have now skyrocketed to $18.64 billion. The affected projects include some of the most high-profile initiatives in the country’s infrastructure development plan, such as the Padma Bridge, Padma Bridge Rail Link, Jamuna Railway Bridge, Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, Bangabandhu Tunnel, Dhaka Metro Rail Line-6, Terminal-3 of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, and BRT Line-3. The task force, led by K.A.S. Murshid, a former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, warns that the cost overruns signal deeper issues within the planning and implementation processes.

The cost increases in these projects have been linked to several common issues, which have, collectively, raised doubts about the integrity of the development process. According to the taskforce’s findings, the initial estimates for these projects, totaling $11.2 billion, increased by nearly $7.5 billion due to errors and deficiencies in planning and execution.

The taskforce’s report pinpoints several underlying causes for the massive increase in costs. Foremost among them is the issue of faulty and inadequate feasibility studies, which are supposed to determine the practicality, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability of each project. However, these studies were often conducted as a formality, serving as a mere checkmark in the approval process, rather than being a comprehensive analysis.

One of the main concerns highlighted in the report is that these mega projects were often conceived through a top-down approach, with........

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