Dhaka, May 4 -- The Bangladesh Railway (BR) has sought an allocation of Tk 14.53 billion in the upcoming development budget even if its project period will end this June, officials said on Saturday.

The 14-year struggling project is due for completion in June of this fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, but the fresh allocation for FY2025 may need further extension of the project, according to insiders.

The state-backed BR has long been building a 100-kilometre Dohazari-Cox's Bazar-Ramu line under an Asian Development Bank-funded project taken in 2010.

"The BR undertook a special project at Tk 80.80 million aimed to build the BR's capacity to implement the project. But both investment and time have virtually ended in vain," says a senior official...