IU Live: Authorities of the Islamic University in Kushtia have failed to complete its construction works under a mega project within the stipulated time though the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the allocation of Tk 537 crore for the university's four years ago.

Nine buildings, five residential halls, two official and staff residential quarters, and an academic and administrative building are to be constructed under the project, reports UNB.

The project implementation committee had extended the time for completing the construction works twice.

The current term for the construction works under the mega project will expire on December 31, IU engineering office officials said on Tuesday.

Campus sources said that ECNEC had allocated Tk 537 crore for the infrastructural development of the Islamic University in Kushtia in 2018 for the first time ever in the history of the university.

Although there is an obligation to complete the work within the stipulated time, only 32 percent of the work has been completed over the four years.

According to the concerned departments, the sluggish implementation of the project was due to failure in tendering on time. No tenders were invited in the first two years and eight months except for 10 tenders for upward expansion.

"If we had started the construction works by tendering at the beginning, the work would have been done on time," IU acting chief engineer Munshi Shahid Uddin Mohammad Tarek told UNB.

"Due to COVID-19, the works were suspended for several months and as the price of goods rose, the contractors stopped working hoping for subsidy by the government," he said.

They also applied for a two-and-a-half-year extension to complete the work to the project implementation committee and the ministry concerned. "Hopefully, we can finish the work by this time," he said.

Meanwhile, the land development work under the mega project is yet to start. A company named Galaxy Associate Majumpur, Kushtia got the tender for the work at the cost of Tk 61 lakh but the company did not start working even in nine months after receiving the work order.

When asked about the land development work, IU planning division director M Nawab Ali said that they had sent several letters to the contractor. He did not respond to the letter, he said, adding that his work order would be canceled soon.

IU vice-chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam said that the work could not be finished on time due to major restrictions and obstacles including Covid-19. The final approval process for the extension of two years was underway.

"We do not want to go for an additional two years unless there are major obstacles, we hope to finish the work before then," he said.

Dhaka, 27 December (campuslive24.com)// Bst