Govt approves Tk 2,478cr cost hike for Elenga-Rangpur four-lane highway

The Cabinet Committee on Government Procurement has approved an additional Tk 2,478 crore for the construction of the Elenga-Hatikamrul-Bogra-Rangpur four-lane highway under the SASEC Road Connectivity Project-2.

The approval came at a meeting held at the Secretariat on Thursday, chaired by Finance Adviser Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.

The project, jointly financed by the Bangladesh government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), involves upgrading the Elenga-Hatikamrul-Bogra-Rangpur highway to four lanes.

According to meeting sources, the additional expenditure was approved through variation orders for 11 construction packages implemented by the Roads and Highways Department. The revisions were required due to additional construction work, design changes, infrastructure modifications and other project requirements.

Following the approval, the contract values of most packages have increased by between 35 and 49 percent over the original contract prices.

Among the major revisions, Tk 386.58 crore was approved for the WP-07 package, Tk 347.65 crore for WP-09, Tk 291.82 crore for WP-06, Tk 267.87 crore for WP-08 and Tk 256.56 crore for WP-11.

The committee also approved variation orders for the remaining packages, including WP-05, WP-10, WP-12, WP-13, WP-14 and WP-15, resulting in revised contract values in line with the project’s updated requirements.