The construction cost of the first terminal of Payra seaport project is increasing by Tk 454.66 crore mainly due to design change. Its overall progress was 8.6 percent in November 2019 but it is expected to speed up as the total cost will be up to Tk 4,516 crore with the approval of the revised project.
However, the progress in another project titled ‘Operation of Payra Port Management’ (2nd Amendment), is quite good at 72 percent till now. As per IMED, (Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) it may be completed within the stipulated time.
IMED Secretary Pradeep Ranjan Chakraborty said Payra Port shows the extensive transformation that the country is undergoing at the moment.
“I have tried to speed up the work of these projects by going to the ground level. If there is any problem, it will be solved,” he said adding that guidelines have been issued for the completion of the two projects on time.
Sources said the increase in the cost of the project would speed up construction of the first terminal and the port’s ancillary facilities.
Officials said the height of the piles of the jetty has increased and the consultant is preparing the detailed design. In addition, design of RCC piles which have been converted into steel piles in the new design. The number and diameter of piles has also increased.
In the previous design the diameter of the pile was 1000 mm, now it will be 1118,60 mm. The number of RCC piles was 981, now it will be 1391. As a result, the construction cost of the jetty will increase by Tk 43.39 crore.
The length of the bridge has been increased by 130 meters as the consulting firm has fixed the gradient slope of the bridge at 4 percent as it will operate heavily loaded vehicles using the bridge over the Andaman River.
The number, length and width of the bridge piles increased as the soil capacity was found to be poor by testing the soil. Thus the construction cost of the bridge will increase by Tk 411.26 crore.
Accordingly, the project implementation period will be longer till June 2023.The Payra Port Authority under the Shipping Ministry is implementing the project. Earlier the estimated project cost with full GoB funding was Tk 3,982.19 crore, which will be Tk 4,516.65 after the change.
The Payra port is being funded by investments from China, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and India.
The port will be located over 7,000 acres of land including 6,000 acres to be used for port development, 500 acres for coal terminal and the rest for resettlement of people affected by the construction of the port.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the project in November 2013, – the country’s third-largest sea port. Three years later, in August 2016, the port began operating – unloading stones imported from China for the Padma Bridge.