DSCC’s Tk 5.04b dev project remains unfinished 

More than seven years after its launch, Dhaka South City Corporation's (DSCC) flagship urban upgrading project still remains unfinished despite multiple deadline extensions, while two of its biggest infrastructure schemes, worth about Tk2.60 billion, have been scrapped altogether after years of delays and planning failures, exposing costly weaknesses in project preparation and implementation.

The World Bank-funded Dhaka City Neighbourhood Upgrading Project, launched in 2019 to modernise parks, roads, drainage, public spaces and civic facilities across southern Dhaka, has been repeatedly revised as procurement stalled, designs changed and implementation lagged. Although the project's budget has been reduced from Tk8.80b to Tk5.04bn and more than Tk3.53bn has already been spent, its key objectives remain unmet, forcing the government to seek alternative funding to complete the remaining work after the World Bank's financing period expired.

Originally budgeted at Tk8.80b, the project's revised cost now stands at Tk5.04 billion. Its initial completion deadline was June 2024, but this has since been extended three times, with the latest deadline set for December this year.

One of the remaining projects under construction is the redevelopment of Basabo Balur Math, which is intended to provide a modern recreational space for children, young people and local residents. However, many of the project's planned facilities remain incomplete.

According to DSCC officials, Tk3.53bn had been spent by June, including about Tk680m on project staff, consultants, salaries, allowances and administrative expenses.

The original project envisaged the development of 20 parks, three playgrounds, 4.5km of the Buriganga riverfront, 39km of drainage networks, 4km of narrow roads, nine waste transfer stations and eight public toilets across Kamrangirchar, Lalbagh, Sutrapur and Khilgaon.

It also included the reconstruction of Loharpul Bridge in Kamrangirchar and the redevelopment of Shahjahanpur Lake, two flagship components together valued at about Tk2.60b.

However, a World Bank implementation review published in 2025 found that procurement for neither project had begun. As completion within a reasonable timeframe was no longer considered feasible, both components were removed from the project.

Construction is continuing at Basabo Balur Math, the Lal Kuthi heritage building, the Dhaka Metropolitan Theatre and eight community centres. Four waste transfer stations have been completed, while work on several roads, drainage networks and two playgrounds is nearing completion.

World Bank implementation reports point to persistent weaknesses in DSCC's procurement processes, project management, quality assurance and construction supervision. By January 2024, almost five years after the project was approved, only 19.91 per cent of the loan had been disbursed. The World Bank rated both implementation progress and the likelihood of achieving the project's development objectives as "unsatisfactory".

A subsequent World Bank assessment published in April 2025 described procurement and financial management performance as "moderately unsatisfactory".

Project officials also cited the corporation's limited experience in managing large donor-funded infrastructure projects during the early stages of implementation. The project's first director, Md Sirajul Islam, now acting chief urban planner at DSCC, acknowledged that the Covid-19 pandemic delayed field operations. He said implementation had been progressing satisfactorily when he left the project and expected the remaining work to be completed within two years.

Rajib Khadem, the current project director, who took charge in mid-2024, said the project had already undergone major revisions before his appointment. He said about 83 per cent of the work had now been completed and that the remaining activities would be finished within the extended deadline.

Following the expiry of the World Bank's implementation period, the remaining expenditure can no longer be financed under the original loan agreement. DSCC officials said outstanding payments would instead be met through government funds and the Resilient Urban and Territorial Development Project (RUTDP), another programme jointly financed by the government and the World Bank.

Urban planners say delays to publicly funded infrastructure projects ultimately increase the burden on taxpayers. Even where projects remain incomplete, governments must still bear the costs of loans, consultancy services, salaries, administrative expenses and partially completed works. Additional public funding is often required to complete unfinished components.

Professor Adil Muhammad Khan of Jahangirnagar University's Department of Urban and Regional Planning said the project's fundamental weakness lay in inadequate feasibility studies and insufficient technical preparation before approval.

"Launching major projects without proper feasibility studies is not merely poor planning; it is a waste of public money," he said.

 "Officials responsible for poor preparation, weak management and prolonged delays should be held accountable. Without accountability, the same mistakes will continue to be repeated", he added.