3-yr project drags into 7th year

A nearly Tk7 crore community centre in Kalai municipality, Joypurhat, remains unfinished nearly seven years after construction began, denying residents a venue for social and cultural events and the municipality a potential source of revenue.
The authorities blame funding shortages and delays in releasing money from the municipality’s own funds, while complications over construction responsibilities have also slowed the project. They now hope to open the centre within three months.
The project was approved on 7 March in the 2018-19 fiscal year, with construction beginning on 1 April 2019. Its initial estimated cost was Tk7.56 crore, later reduced by 10% to a tender value of Tk6.79 crore.
The Local Government Division was to provide Tk5.99 crore, while Tk81.41 lakh was to come from the municipality’s own revenue fund. The initial completion deadline was three years.
Construction was halted for several months during the coronavirus outbreak. Despite subsequent extensions, the project remains incomplete, with the latest deadline set for June 2027.
The tender was awarded to Messrs Kabir Traders, owned by Ekramul Kabir Ahmed. However, construction is now being carried out by Messrs Nazrul Traders, owned by Nazrul Islam, reportedly as a sub-contractor.
Ekramul said responsibility for the construction was now with Nazrul and referred questions about the work’s progress and financial matters to him.
Nazrul said he had received Tk5.5 crore in instalments for the work, followed by another Tk10 lakh from a Local Government Division allocation with the assistance of State Minister for Public Administration and Food Abdul Bari.
He said work was currently focused on the boundary wall and claimed Tk1.1 crore remained unpaid. He also said the municipality had yet to provide the Tk81.41 lakh it had committed from its own revenue fund.
Despite Local Government Division funds being available in a bank account, Nazrul claimed he had not received the money for a long period.
Kalai Municipality engineer AKM Saiful Islam said the completion deadline had been extended to June 2027 and that bills had been paid according to the contractor’s progress.
He attributed the delay in paying the municipality’s share to its financial crisis. The municipality applied to the Local Government Division on 16 July and 21 September for a special allocation of Tk81.41 lakh, he said.
Another Tk10 lakh had been provided following State Minister Abdul Bari’s advice, Saiful said.
“Even if the additional allocation is not secured, efforts are under way to open the community centre within the next two to three months,” he said, dismissing allegations against the municipality as unfounded.
Kalai Upazila Nirbahi Officer and municipal administrator Faisal Ahmed said funding-related complications had kept the project stalled for years.
“The state minister has issued a DO letter on the matter. We are trying to resolve the problem quickly and open the community centre within the next three months,” he said.
He added that even if the entire project could not be completed, the existing infrastructure would be used to help increase municipal revenue.