Govt to find reasons for mega projects’ multiple revisions: Wahiduddin

The interim government plans to publish a detailed report on the country's mega projects explaining why they have been revised multiple times, resulting time extensions and cost overruns, Planning and Education Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud said today.

"We want to know why the projects were revised repeatedly and whose interests were served by the projects," he said.

The economist made the comments on the first day in office at the planning ministry in Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

"We want to prepare the report as a document so that we don't make mistakes in future. Now, we want to make corrections if there is scope for any," he added.

The Hasina-led government wanted to implement many 'prestige projects' to show visible growth in infrastructure, he said.

The projects were taken without proper feasibility studies and without thinking about liabilities that come with local and foreign loans, the adviser said.

They were taken for the sake of some vested quarters, including contractors, he added.

"They were not well-planned or not taken on priority basis."

He, however, gave credit to the recently ousted government for some people-friendly projects.

The interim government will now reconsider the projects, which are at the initial stage now, he said.