ADB Okays $2m for remittance project

Star Business Report

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) board approved a $2 million grant to launch a remittance investment
project to provide safe, affordable remittance services to thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers and
their families.

The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will be used in the project to fund technology linking microfinance
institutions and banks. It will give at least 20,000 rural migrant worker households access to formal
remittance services for the first time, ADB said in a statement yesterday.

“Currently, many rural migrants and their families are forced to rely on informal remittance outlets which are
undocumented and risky,” said Mayumi Ozaki, finance specialist (rural and microfinance) for ADB's South
Asia Department.

“This project, using debit cards, points of sale terminals and other innovations will allow people in remote
areas to send and receive funds through the formal banking system.”

The project will fund remittance and financial literacy training and an awareness campaign to provide
guidance to returning migrant workers on investment products and employment opportunities.

The goal is to help each household save, or invest, an additional $300 a year, ADB said.

The Bangladesh government will contribute $29,000, with banks and microfinance institutions providing
nearly $386,000, for a total cost of over $2.4 million. The finance ministry is the executing agency for the
project, which will run for three years to 2013.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Dhaka-Ctg highway project gets momentum

M Abul Kalam Azad

The project to upgrade the narrow but crucial Dhaka-Chittagong highway to a dual carriageway has finally
got momentum as the officials concerned expect to complete all procedures by December.

A seven-member evaluation committee is now scrutinising 111 tender documents submitted by 18 local and
international firms for the Tk 2,404 crore project.

“Evaluation of the documents will be completed in a week and a report with the names of successful bidders
will be sent to the communications ministry for approval,” said Project Director Md Sabbir Hossain Khan,
who is an executive engineer of Roads and Highways.

A notification of award is likely to be announced next month after the cabinet purchase committee approves
the project and selection of the firms.

“All necessary tasks are being done very fast so that primary works of the project like setting up of offices
and arrangement for accommodation are initiated by December,” said Sabbir.

The 215-kilometre dual carriageway will be constructed on build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.
The main construction work is expected to begin in January and the winning firms will get three years to
complete the job.
The project director said an option is there for giving the contractors another year to revamp the dual
carriageway at their costs if any flaw or defect is found in its construction.

The cost of the project was estimated at Tk 2,168 crore when it was initiated four years ago.

But it failed to make headway due to bureaucratic tangle in floating tenders and lack of coordination among
the authorities concerned. Finalisation of the project was delayed and tenders for the project were also
cancelled twice.

Sabbir said the same firms would carpet the existing two-lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway at the fag end of
construction of two more lanes. Its cost has been included in the revised budget, he said.

The present government has chosen it as a priority project and has been pressing the communications
ministry to complete all procedures as soon as possible.

Communications Minister Syed Abdul Hossain said upgrade of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway to a dual
carriageway is one of his ministry's priority projects and its implementation will make traffic movement on the
highway smoother as well as enhance economic activities.

He told The Daily Star that there would be no problem this time regarding tender for the project.

The Dhaka-Chittagong highway that links the port city with the capital has become risky to ply along
because of its narrowness and poor condition that contributed to the increase in accidents on the motorway

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Front Page

Jatrabari-Gulistan Flyover

Project work goes on in good pace

Tawfique Ali

Implementation of the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover project in the capital is making headway ahead of schedule
after despite procedural and physical adversities, say project officials.

They aim at opening the facility for the public in two years from now.

As many as 14 pillars have already been built in Jatrabari and Joykali Mandir sites against the scheduled
target of nine by mid-February, said Salman Obaidul Karim, managing director of Belhasa Accom and
Associates Ltd (BAAL), concessionaire of the project.

"Our target is to build six more within February," he said. The ten-kilometre flyover requires over 200 such
pillars.

Against the target of doing less than 200 pilings by the same deadline, 230 have so far been done, Salman
added.

Pillars are being erected on heavily-built platforms each on a number of pilings after successful tests of load-
bearing capacity.

A total of 233 spans will be built and fixed on top of the pillars with crane, trailer and launching girder to
make up the flyover.
"We hope to start casting of spans by the end of March," said Salman, adding, "Our aim is to open the
facility for public in January, 2013."

However, the work is going on in full swing without supervision of an independent consultant (IC) of the
executing agency Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) as required by the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) rules.

Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, noted civil engineer and currently involved with Dhaka Elevated Expressway,
said quality control by an IC is vital.

The Consulting Engineering Services (CES) of India was earlier appointed the IC for the project, said Md
Abul Kalam Azad, chief executive officer of DCC.

Later, following certain changes in the length and structural design of the flyover, DCC needed to settle
down new rate of man-month and conditions with CES and it caused delay in reappointment, said Azad.

A DCC team was scheduled to leave for India on February 13 to negotiate with CES.

Salman Karim said they have their own lab facilities to carry out regular testing of the construction materials
on the site.

"That apart, we get each consignment of the materials tested at the Buet laboratory," he said, "The cement
[Holcim and Scan] are of international standard."

For engineering supervision, Lea Associates South Asia, design consultant of the concessionaire, keeps a
constant oversight on the construction, he said.

Ashiqur Rahman, superintending engineer of DCC and project director (PD) of Jatrabari flyover, said he has
formed a quality control team with representatives of contractor, concessionaire's design consultant and the
concessionaire.

Though the detailed drawing of the flyover is submitted to the DCC, it has not been able to approve it in
absence of the IC though the prime minister formally inaugurated the project in June, said Rahman.

The flyover includes the length of 11 ramps and will have a four-lane carriageway. It will stretch from Dhaka-
Chittagong highway towards Palashi through Gulistan and Kaptan Bazar

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Front Page

Major wetland to vanish for airport

Govt takes decision on Bangabandhu airport without any
environmental study
Pinaki Roy and Pankaj Karmakar

The government decision of building Bangabandhu International Airport covering an area that includes
thousands of acres of agricultural land and the biggest wetland near the capital without any feasibility study
and environment impact assessment (EIA) has triggered mass protests in the localities.

The proposed site of the airport consists of more than 25, 000 acres of land in three upazilas of Dhaka and
Munshiganj districts.
The authorities have already started the process of acquiring these lands in Arial Beel (wetland) -- 10, 895-
acre in Sreenagar upazila of Munshiganj, and 7, 017 acres in Nawabganj and 7,188 areas in Dohar upazilas
of Dhaka.

“We have just selected the site, and it (airport) will be built on the basis of public-private partnership basis.
So, we are acquiring land and then we will express our interest to attract investor. The investor will conduct
all sorts of feasibility study and EIA,” Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Air Commodore
Mahmud Hussain told The Daily Star.

Initially, the government had planned to build the airport in Trishal upazila of Mymenshigh and later decided
in principle to build it in greater Faridpur.

Contacted, a government high official involved in selecting the site, said, “We took into consideration Trishal
and both banks of the Padma to find a suitable place.” A team led by the civil aviation and tourism secretary
visited Bhanga upazila in Faridpur and Arial Beel last month.

“Finally, we have selected Arial Beel as there is no human habitation here,” he said, requesting anonymity.

“If we go for Bhanga or Trishal, we have to relocate many people since there are human habitations there.
But this location (Arial Beel) is suitable because it is just wetland, and only one crop (a year) is grown there,”
he added.

The move has triggered resentment among locals who apprehend their lands will be acquired at low prices.
They staged demonstrations in the three upazilas in the last few days.

But there are also others who welcomed the move believing that building the airport will create jobs and
develop the area.

“You will always find such protests whenever the government wants to do some development activities,” the
official said.

Arial Beel is a very old wetland stretching over 25,000 acres, home to many local bird species, which was
also mentioned in documents of the British era. The name Arial Beel is found in the first Dhaka Gazetteer of
James Taylor in early 19th century.

Asked about the importance of Arial Beel from environmental aspects, renowned bird expert Enam ul Haque
said the wetland is home to many rare species.

“We have already destroyed all habitats of our local duck. Arial Beel is the only known breeding ground for
spot-billed duck,” he said.

Besides, it is the lone breeding ground for common moorhen, purple swamp hen, water cock (Kora) and a
small number of surviving Rufous-rumped grass bird in Dhaka Division, Enam mentioned.

An inhabitant of Alampur in Sreenagar, Mohsin Alam, said over three lakh people are directly or indirectly
dependent on the beel for their livelihood.

Ruhul Amin of Nagorik Uddyog Sreenagar upazila unit said over 40,000 tonnes of rice are produced
annually from the lands in Arial Beel, and people of the area catch fish worth Tk 50-60 crore and collect
oyster worth over Tk 20 crore a year from the beel.

Land Acquisition Office of Munshiganj Abdul Latif Khan had earlier told The Daily Star that the process of
acquiring land for the airport was going on in full swing. Notices in this regard would be issued in three
phases, and proper compensation given to those affected.

The civil aviation and tourism ministry approved the land acquisition on December 20.
When asked, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister GM Quader said he is not in a position to talk on this now.

“I shall give details on the airport at an appropriate time,” he added.

While visiting a number of villages in Sreenagar, Nawbabganj and Dohar, this correspondent was told by
locals that they would launch a tougher agitation demanding that the proposed airport be shifted elsewhere.

“We shall do everything to protect our land, and to stop building the airport here,” said Mujibur Rahman, an
elderly farmer from Munshinagar in Nawbabganj.

This has become a much-talked-about issue everywhere in the areas -- houses, shops, markets,
educational institutions and even in mosques. And announcements about agitation programmes were being
made over microphones.

Shahjahan Badal, convener of Arial Beel Rakkha Committee, said, “We have no alternative but to protect
our land. Our survival depends on Arial Beel. ”

“On Monday, we gave an ultimatum to the authorities to change the decision (about the proposed airport
site) within seven days. We will go for tougher programmes if it is not done,” he added

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Front Page

Turmoil at Munshiganj
Expect judicious decision from PM
The eruption of violence in Munshiganj that left one police officer dead and scores injured is saddening. We
condemn this wanton violence. We condole the death of the police officer who was on duty and express our
sympathy to the bereaved family and those who received injuries. We also commend the police who showed
impressive restraint even when one of their officers was killed.

Why this uproar and reaction of the people of Arial Beel? It is a move to voice a grievance over the airport
project by people who felt wronged. We are not aware of any feasibility study carried out on the
surroundings of the site or the site itself. Studies on seasonal water catchment and flows, impact on fishing,
the forest land, the cultivable lands and uppermost the effects on livelihood should precede any action on
the ground. It is a mega project set to run for a long time. Therefore, the stakes are very high for the people,
let alone the government.

We appeal to the government to take the people in confidence and dialogue with them about the reasons for
selection of such a site. It is imprudent to expect cooperation of people who believe that they are being
robbed of their hearths and homes and means of livelihood. Application of force is not the way.

The government should not put any label on the issue to politicize it. It should not tag any political party to
the violence. This will cloud its vision and blur its understanding of where it hurts the people.

Reportedly, the PM will decide on the matter shortly. We urge her to take all factors into account -- technical,
financial, environmental and especially those that affect the livelihoods of people who currently occupy the
area before making up her mind. In making her decision public opinion must figure high. She must not also
allow either pride or party interest to cloud her judgment

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Editorial

Importance of Project Management

The importance of project management can never be underestimated in the corporate world. In this article, I
talk about the importance of various features of project management.

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The thing that drives people in corporate world is 'Target' that is set as a project goal for each
individual team member. Modern industries are driven by project based objectives that need to be
achieved in a fixed period of time. Modern management theory is the science of achieving
objectives with economy and precision, within a fixed period of time. It is about making an
efficient use of material and human resources at hand to achieve maximum efficiency and of
course maximize profits to create wealth! Every chief executive officer appointed for any company
knows the importance of project management. It is not just about achieving the target but how you
achieve it as a team that matters. In this article, I talk why is project management important and
explore its many facets.

Project Management Importance

Be it a school or college project, a business to run, an information technology project, a party, an

event or any other kind of major project that threatens to be a logistics nightmare, requires
precise planning and prior research. Time and resources need to be effectively managed to
ensure the success of the project. Let us have a look at the various aspects of project or business
process management that are essential parts of it.

Importance of Project Management Methodology

First and foremost, one needs to have a project management methodology in place that concerns
itself with how you plan to execute a project. Methodology is the framework within which the
creative process of product development can occur in a smooth and organized fashion. This
includes research and development, planning and the actual execution.

Not unlike research methodologies, project management methodologies vary according to nature of
a project or task at hand. There are many established methodologies in most fields of business. If
it's a software project, there are various development models like waterfall model and agile model
that a company could adopt. If it's a sales or marketing project, there are other such established
methodologies for a company management to choose from. Some of the generic established
methodologies for project management are 'Critical Chain Project Management', 'Extreme Project
Management' and 'Event chain methodology'.

A chosen methodology should be such that the project objectives are achieved on an optimized
time scale with efficient use of material as well as human resources. Of course, if a product is the
end objective of a project, then methodology must ensure the best output possible within
constraints. The importance of project management methodology can never be overstated as the
process itself decides the outcome. The more time and effort companies put into creation of a
precise methodology, better will be the result and more satisfied will be the customers and
shareholders.
Importance of Project Management Tools
There are many types of project management tools available today, in the form of software
applications that can help you plan out the whole project and monitor its overall development.
These project management software programs help managers monitor the daily development of a
project in a systematic fashion and see to it that they are running on schedule. These tools
include accounting software that lets you ensure that the financial costs of running a project are
within the set limits. The importance of project management tools can only be realized after you
have actually used one.

Importance of Project Management Skills

Even if you have a great plan in place, excellent infrastructure, without people that have the
requisite skills to manage and execute the plan precisely, your project has no hope of success.
Project management training on the job is important to create professionals who can efficiently
handle the job. Good project managers that have the requisite technical expertise and leadership
skills to motivate and guide a team are required. A big project has several different departments
of work and each requires an efficient management head for the whole process to work smoothly.
The project management professional skills that you are looking for in a project manager are
technical expertise, ability to lead and inspire a team, accountability and ability to innovate. The
importance of project management skills is reflected through the fat pay checks companies are
willing to offer CEOs, CFOs and other project heads. It is important that the right project
management professional be selected for the job.

Importance of Planning in Project Management

Without a proper road map for project development, one cannot hope to achieve project targets.
A detailed plan which makes optimum use of resources is what you need. Well planned is almost
half done and so the importance of planning in project management is foremost and above all the
other aspects.

Importance of Communication in Project Management

To reduce the friction and improve coordination among the various departments that need to work
together, communication is vitally important. Periodic meetings and resolution of problems that a
project may face, need to be effectively dealt with through communication. So it's essential that
proper communication channels be created for feedback among hierarchical levels. This will
speed up the project development and reduce delays that occur due to non-coordination.

Importance of Project Cost Management

In today's recessionary scenario, the importance of project cost management, can never be
underestimated. It is the most important task of financial management in a company. To maximize
profits and make efficient use of the overall resources at hand, cost management is an important
job. It's important that financial accountability be maintained at every stage in the process and the
overall expenses fall within the set budget limits.

Benefits of Project Management

What are the benefits of adopting a systematic project management strategy, instead of going
about things in a haphazard, trial and error fashion? Well, the prime benefit is that you ensure
that a project is completed in a fixed time frame, within allocated budget and achieve desired
product quality. With an intensive project management system in place, it's easier to identify
areas of improvement and see where you are falling short. It ensures that there is smooth
coordination between teams and time and resources invested are put to good use. Most
important of all, with cost management, you can hope for even better profit margins.

Hope this short write up on importance of project management served its purpose. You can never
fully understand its importance unless you become part of a real project. Take up a project, plan it
out thoroughly and execute it to completely understand what it means to get things done!

By Gray Pilgrim
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-project-management.html