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The commerce ministry’s Export Competitiveness for Jobs (EC4J) project, which aims to expand Bangladesh’s export basket, has once again failed to meet its deadline and become costlier due to slow implementation.
The Tk 941 crore project has seen only 25 per cent progress following its previous six-year completion schedule, according to planning ministry documents.
The project will be placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council tomorrow for its second revision.
If approved, the project cost will increase by Tk 93 crore to Tk 1,105 crore while its completion deadline will be set for June 2025.
Although the commerce ministry blamed the coronavirus pandemic and difficulties in land acquisition for the delay, the planning commission and experts say it is actually because of lax implementation by the concerned agency and ineptitude of project planners.
Funded by the World Bank, the project was undertaken in 2017 to support the government’s export diversification target and create around 90,000 jobs in certain sectors.
The project was designed to enhance the growth and competitiveness of four sectors as well as create more and better job opportunities in the leather and leather goods, footwear, light engineering and plastic sectors.
The government is prioritising export diversification as the garment sector accounted for 84 per cent of the $52 billion in export receipts last fiscal year, shows data from the Export Promotion Bureau.
As per the project proposal, the ministry had earlier planned to establish four technology centres in Kaliakair and Kashimpur of Gazipur, Mirsharai of Chattogram, and Sirajdikhan of Munshiganj to provide local enterprises with access to modern technologies, advanced skills and other relevant business development services.
However, the commerce ministry declined the plan and instead decided only to establish the two centres in Gazipur.
“There is a major gap in project designing by the commerce ministry,” said a top official of the planning commission seeking anonymity.
Although land acquisition was an issue, there was also a lack of urgency to implement the project.
And due to the slow implementation, the country will have to pay more domestic currencies against the World Bank’s debt in the future, the official added.
Besides, the project director has been changed at least four times.
Acknowledging the slow implementation, Md Monsurul Alam, current project director of the EC4J, said they have acquired more than 30 acres of land, which was the main barrier for progress along with the coronavirus effect.
“We do not have any problems now and we planned to set up two technology centres,” said Alam, who is the fifth project director of the EC4J.
Asked about the additional budget, Alam said the cost has increased due to the appreciation of the US dollar.
Additionally, the World Bank has not increased its funding for the project.
Alam, also additional secretary of the commerce ministry, then claimed they have completed around 40 per cent of the project.
Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, said there is no objection on the project’s merit but quickly implementing it is a burning issue ahead of Bangladesh’s graduation from a least developed country (LDC) in 2026.
“The implementing agency should implement the project on a priority basis by linking it with preparations for LDC graduation,” he added.
Razzaque suggested doing a quick revision on the project to adjust the components regarding the challenges of LDC graduation.
(TDS)
