The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Planning has decided to conduct a thorough, neutral investigation into the heavy financial losses and implementation flaws surrounding the Karnaphuli Tunnel (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel) project in Chattogram.
The decision was taken during the committee’s second meeting at Jatiya Sangshad Bhaban on Saturday (October 17, 2026), attended by State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki, committee members Kazi Rafiqul Islam, Moinul Islam Khan, Md. Saiful Alam, and Md. Rashedul Islam Rashed, alongside planning division secretaries. The committee instructed all relevant agencies to provide full cooperation and technical disclosures to uncover the root causes behind the mega-project's feasibility study lapses and mounting operational losses.
Additionally, the committee reviewed the status of 1,153 ongoing development projects and scrutinized the reasons behind time extensions for 256 projects in the 2025–2026 fiscal year—identifying land acquisition hurdles, flawed feasibility checks, delayed Project Director (PD) appointments, and fund disbursement delays as primary bottlenecks. To address the administrative strain within the Planning Ministry, where 221 vacancies exist (with 65 recruitments currently in final stages), the Committee Chairman directed officials to prioritize recruitment based on precise strategic workloads rather than routine post-filling, while ensuring balanced regional development across rural infrastructure.
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Reported by Staff Reporter • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
