In a major overhaul aimed at curbing delays, cost overruns and weak accountability, the government is considering appointing full-time project directors (PDs) for all development schemes costing more than Tk50 crore, while offering them attractive salaries outside the regular government pay structure.
The move is aimed at ending the practice of assigning project responsibilities as an additional charge alongside regular government duties and frequent changes of project directors.
The government is also considering forming a dedicated pool of skilled and honest officers to lead development projects more efficiently.
Officials in the Ministry of Planning and the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) informed TIMES of Bangladesh about this development.
The Planning Division recently held detailed discussions on reforming the project management system, with State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki directing officials to form a dedicated project director pool. He also ordered the establishment of strict appointment criteria and mandated full-time project directors for all schemes costing more than Tk50 crore, said officials.
The meeting also asked the Planning Division Secretary to take initiatives for quick implementation of the proposals.
Officials from the Ministry of Planning and IMED said many project directors are currently appointed as an additional responsibility while handling their regular government assignments.
In many cases, PDs are also changed multiple times during the same project. Such changes disrupt project continuity, require time for new directors to understand responsibilities and delay decision-making, ultimately increasing both project duration and cost, they said.
To address the problem, instructions will be issued to ministries and divisions concerned to appoint full-time PDs for major projects, officials added.
They said a plan is also being prepared to create a PD pool comprising experienced officials from different ministries. These officers will receive specialised training, while work is underway to determine a new project-based salary and allowance structure to make project leadership more attractive.
Planning Division Secretary SM Shakil Akhter told TIMES that major development projects are currently being implemented across the country, but responsibilities are not always assigned to skilled and qualified officials.
“As a result, the quality of work decreases and there are unreasonable delays in implementation,” he said.
He said a plan has been made to create a PD pool for this purpose. Initially, the pool will comprise officials from different ministries, who will receive specialised training.
“However, if there is no integrity, only training will not be beneficial. Integrity is the most important along with efficiency,” he said.
Regarding full-time PD appointments, Shakil Akhter said there had previously been a tendency for frequent transfers of project directors, though the practice had reduced significantly over the past year.
He said the state minister for planning had instructed various ministries to issue guidelines on appointing full-time PDs for all expensive projects.
“If we want to implement a four-or-five-year project on schedule, then the driving force behind the project must be strong,” the secretary said.
“With this in mind, we have decided to move away from the conventional system of posting. Instead, it is being considered to provide attractive salaries and allowances through the lien system, similar to what government officials receive when they work with the United Nations or multinational companies on lien,” he added.
He said officials working under such arrangements receive Tk3 lakh to Tk6 lakh per month, and there is a plan to introduce separate attractive salaries based on project size outside the conventional government salary structure.
The secretary said the proposed system would allow skilled manpower from the government system to be brought under the lien arrangement.
Experienced and successful former government officials who have retired could also be appointed on a contractual basis.
A workshop has already been held on the proposals, while joint secretaries and additional secretaries from various ministries have expressed their support in principle for the initiative, he said.
Former IMED Secretary Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty told TIMES that reforms in the appointment system of project directors had been discussed for a long time.
“Under the current system, many project directors are not able to complete projects within the stipulated time,” he said.
He said frequent changes of PDs in many projects remained a major challenge for implementation.
“If such an arrangement can be made that a project director will serve the entire project period and complete the project, then it will definitely be a positive initiative,” he added.
Regarding the proposed project-based salary structure, Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty said projects should first be classified.
“The project director should be appointed and the salary and allowance structure determined after classification, taking into account the financial size of the project, its importance in the public interest, potential output, and whether the project will be limited to a specific area or implemented throughout the country,” he said.
