A government project aimed at providing training and rehabilitation for destitute children remains incomplete more than three years after its original deadline, prompting authorities to seek yet another extension for its completion.
The government has moved to extend the implementation period of the project titled “Reconstruction of Destitute Children Training and Rehabilitation Centre, Konabari, Gazipur (1st Revised)” for the fourth time, pushing the deadline to June 2026 without increasing the project cost.
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The initiative, undertaken by the Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Welfare, is part of the government’s social protection efforts and is fully financed by the government.
The project seeks to ensure the constitutional rights of destitute children by providing a safe, child-friendly living environment along with education, care and skills training so they can become self-reliant and eventually integrate into mainstream society.
Initially approved in July 2019 with a budget of Tk 81.66 crore, the project’s cost was later revised upward to Tk 92.23 crore under its first revision. The original completion deadline was set for June 2022.
However, the timeline has been extended multiple times — first to June 2023, then to June 2024 and later to June 2025 — all without any additional financial allocation.
Officials say the latest proposal would grant another year to complete the remaining work while keeping the overall cost unchanged.
It involves reconstruction of the existing training and rehabilitation centre, construction of new facilities and creation of a supportive environment for vulnerable children.
Planned activities include construction of non-residential buildings, procurement of machinery and equipment, and purchase of furniture for dormitories and guest rooms.
Authorities attribute the repeated delays to a combination of factors, including the lengthy process of appointing a consultancy firm, revisions to the master plan, recruitment of manpower and procedural delays linked to demolition of old structures and tree cutting.
These issues delayed the start of physical construction works.
Despite the setbacks, officials say notable progress has been achieved.
Civil works procurement was completed through three packages, with work orders worth about Tk 71.81 crore issued — representing nearly 88 percent of the total project cost.
Construction activities are currently underway and overall implementation progress has reached around 80 percent, according to official estimates.
However, officials noted that physical work stalled for a period due to prevailing circumstances. The project also did not receive any allocation under the Annual Development Programme for the 2024–25 fiscal year, preventing any expenditure between July 2024 and March 2025.
Funding was restored only in April 2025 through the Revised ADP.
Officials say the lack of funding during that period made it impossible to complete the remaining work by the June 2025 deadline or to fully utilise the allocation within the existing timeline.
The project has now been included in the ADP for the 2025–26 fiscal year with a token allocation of Tk 0.01 crore.
As of October 2025, cumulative expenditure stood at Tk 77.32 crore, indicating financial progress of 83.83 percent and physical progress of about 85 percent.
Officials expressed hope that the additional time would allow completion of the remaining work and enable the centre to begin providing full training and rehabilitation services to destitute children as originally planned.