Nature of corruption in mega projects

Adviser on Women and Children Affairs Sharmin S Murshid has said that during the tenure of the previous government, corruption devoured all our progress like termites; every project during that time was marred by corruption. On the other hand, the interim government is following a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards corruption. Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin remarked that past governments indulged in a spending spree. Brigadier (Retd) Sakhawat Hossain, adviser to the Ministry of Shipping, refered the ministry during the Awami League’s tenure as the ‘Pacific Ocean of theft.’ During the Awami League’s rule, opposition parties, including the BNP, alleged massive corruption in mega projects. If project cost estimates are set high, it becomes easier to embezzle.

One common statement from the opposition during the Awami League’s rule was that project costs in Bangladesh are higher than in India or neighbouring countries. But where is the corruption? Apart from the stories of corruption involving Benazir Ahmed and Motiur Rahman that stirred public discourse during the Awami League era, has the public discovered any other evidence of corruption to date?

The two largest projects in the country are the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and the Padma Bridge Project. The Rooppur project costs Tk 1,55,000 crore, and the Padma Bridge costs Tk 32,000 crore. The World Bank was supposed to finance the Padma Bridge, but later withdrew citing allegations that Canadian company SNC-Lavalin planned to bribe Bangladeshi officials. This bribery case was settled in a Canadian court, which, after a lengthy investigation, dismissed the allegations as speculative and rumours.

Interestingly, at the time the corruption allegations were made, no contractor had yet been appointed for the Padma Bridge, no contracts signed, and no funds disbursed. It is noteworthy that the technical committee led by the universally respected Professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury evaluated the tender for the Padma Bridge, leaving little room for suspicion of corruption. Even so, upon hearing the World Bank’s corruption allegations, intellectuals such as Badiul Alam Majumdar, Dr Akbar Ali Khan, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, and Mahmudur Rahman Manna declared in unison, “It’s all over, the country is drowning in corruption.”

After the construction of the Padma Bridge, the tone of the intellectuals shifted. Now the allegation is that the Padma Bridge cost significantly more than India’s Bhupen Hazarika Bridge. It did indeed cost more, because the Padma Bridge is two-storied, naturally increasing expenses. The foundation of a multi-storey structure is also more expensive. In addition to road and rail, the double-deck Padma Bridge includes gas, electricity, and optical fibre lines. The world’s strongest current is in the Amazon River in South America, followed by the Padma. The stronger the current, the higher the cost of river training and construction. Though the lengths of the Padma and Bhupen Hazarika Bridges are equal, the Padma Bridge is nearly 1.5 times wider. The Bhupen Hazarika Bridge’s pile load capacity is only 60 tonnes, whereas Padma Bridge’s pile load is 8,210 tonnes.

A single pillar of the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge weighs 120 tonnes, while a pillar of the Padma Bridge weighs 50,000 tonnes. The Padma Bridge involved piling equivalent to a 40-storey building and required the use of powerful hammers not used in any other bridge construction worldwide. There was no expenditure for river training in the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, but nearly Tk 10,000 crore was spent on 16km of river training for the Padma Bridge. Despite this, the main bridge construction cost was only Tk 12,494 crore. Land acquisition and rehabilitation costs were also significant. Although the World Bank did not finance the project, in 2011 it estimated the Padma Bridge's construction cost at $3 billion. The actual expenditure did not exceed this estimate.

The most expensive highway built during the Awami League’s tenure is the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway, which cost Tk 201 crore per kilometre. During the interim government’s term, the Matarbari deep seaport link road project costs more than double this amount—Tk 476 crore per kilometre. Higher cost per kilometre does not necessarily indicate corruption; loan terms and conditions should be considered. The Adani power project in India during the Awami League era sparked widespread corruption allegations; now it is being said that there was no irregularity in that project.

Just a few days ago, Railway Ministry Adviser Muhammad Fauzul Kabir requested railway engineers and military personnel involved in railway projects to reduce costs. But why the request? There is no autocracy now, no corruption—so why can't accurate cost estimates be ensured? It was mentioned that the estimated costs of 10 projects during the Awami League era were reduced by Tk 46,308 crore through reevaluation. However, there is no clarification on whether this cost-saving was due to trimming inflated estimates or dropping unnecessary parts of the projects. The implications are different. If parts of a project are dropped, it arises from a different perspective on importance. But if estimates were inflated for corruption, then those responsible should still be held accountable. If not, it must be assumed there was no corruption involved in the inflated estimates of those 10 projects.

Similar allegations were made about the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project—that its construction cost exceeded than that of the third and fourth units of India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project. The cost was naturally lower for Kudankulam because during the construction of the first and second units, the infrastructure for the third and fourth was already built, so no further infrastructure cost was incurred later. Rooppur, however, is a ‘greenfield project’ on a riverbank, requiring full infrastructure construction from scratch. The construction, installation, and commissioning costs of the Rooppur project are being borne by Russia’s state entity Rosatom; in India, these responsibilities fell to India.

Beyond allegations of high construction costs, five individuals—including Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and niece Tulip Siddiq—faced accusations of embezzling $500 crore from the Rooppur project. This allegation, cited in a report published by a website called ‘Global Defense Corp’ on August 17, was even raised in court.

The project cost is estimated at $1,265 crore; if $500 crore were embezzled, then the remaining $765 crore would be left to complete the project. According to a summary from the Chief Adviser’s office, this money was allegedly laundered through various offshore bank accounts in Malaysia. The flat worth £700,000 in London that Tulip Siddiq received was supposedly purchased with money embezzled from the Rooppur project. However, that flat was reportedly bought in 2004, while the nuclear power project began in 2013.

Regarding this alleged corruption, the Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh stated that it is ‘rumour’ and ‘falsehood.’ The project is being implemented, including financing, by Russia’s state atomic energy agency Rosatom. According to Rosatom, payments for imported goods and services for the project, made through letters of credit, were paid directly to suppliers from the approved loan by the Russian Ministry of Finance. No project funds were given to the Government of Bangladesh, leaving no opportunity for any third party to embezzle money from the project.

Despite the statements from the Russian Ambassador and Rosatom, the Anti-Corruption Commission's investigation is ongoing. Moreover, Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, and their children are being investigated by the ACC for accepting plots in Purbachal from RAJUK despite owning property in capital. On the other hand, RAJUK allocates plots via public notice under the Allotment of Land Rules, 1969. However, in 1986, the rules were amended to introduce a reserved quota for ministers, MPs, judges, freedom fighters, politicians, journalists, businessmen, doctors, and engineers. Plots for Sheikh Hasina and her family were allocated under this reserved quota. This quota system was recently abolished by the interim government. Yet despite its cancellation, many people received plots under this quota since 1986, though the government is only listing those who received plots and flats in the last 15 years. If a list were published of all prominent individuals who received plots despite owning homes or flats in the capital since 1986, it would ensure transparency.

Corruption will never be eradicated if it remains tied to politics. When partisan governments are in power, corruption investigations become one-sided; only a caretaker government can conduct impartial investigations irrespective of party affiliation. Let a caretaker government initiate the process of rooting out corruption—that is our collective hope.

Zeauddin Ahmed: Former Executive Director, Bangladesh Bank