Padma bridge cost up by Tk3,000cr
The Communication Ministry had made the decision as the Bridges Division had not entertained the request of the Korean firms
A Chinese firm is set to get the contract for constructing the Padma bridge with the project cost having increased by Tk3,000 crore following three years’ delay and complexity in the tender process.
Bridges Division Secretary Khandokar Anwarul Islam yesterday sent the proposal to the Cabinet Division for appointing the China Major Bridge Engineering Co Ltd as the construction consultant.
The proposal will be placed today at a meeting of the cabinet committee on public purchase presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, an official of the Cabinet Division said.
The proposal says the Communication Ministry did not entertain the request placed by the joint venture of two South Korean firms – the Samsung C&T Corporation and the DAELIM-Larsen and Toubro Limited – for extending the time of its financial offer by 10 and 12 weeks.
On May 11, 2010, the government floated the first tender for appointing the constructor of the Padma bridge in 2011. At that time, the project cost was Tk9,127.17 crore.
However, the tender process was suspended in August 2011 following allegations of corruption conspiracy raised by the World Bank.
The final tender was floated on June 26 last year and the China Major Bridge submitted its main financial offer on April 24 this year. The Bridges Division proposal says the Chinese company offered to build the Padma bridge at a cost of Tk12,133.39 crore – an increase of Tk3,006.22 crore from earlier.Padma Bridge Project Director M Shafiqul Islam said the increase was normal because of the delay and re-tendering.“But China Major Bridge has offered 12.62% [Tk1,752 crore] less cost than the estimated Tk13,885.85 crore as mentioned in the tender,” he said.
Economist AB Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the main tender of the Padma bridge would have been competitive and the construction cost of the Padma bridge would have been lower if the two South Korean firms had participated.
He said the Communication Ministry had made the decision as the Bridges Division had not entertained the request of the Korean firms.
Mentioning that the upgrading work of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway to a four-lane one by a Chinese firm was yet to finish in around four years, the former adviser to a caretaker government said Chinese companies had a bad reputation in the field.
- See more at: Padma bridge cost up by Tk3,000cr | Dhaka Tribune
The Communication Ministry had made the decision as the Bridges Division had not entertained the request of the Korean firms
A Chinese firm is set to get the contract for constructing the Padma bridge with the project cost having increased by Tk3,000 crore following three years’ delay and complexity in the tender process.
Bridges Division Secretary Khandokar Anwarul Islam yesterday sent the proposal to the Cabinet Division for appointing the China Major Bridge Engineering Co Ltd as the construction consultant.
The proposal will be placed today at a meeting of the cabinet committee on public purchase presided over by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, an official of the Cabinet Division said.
The proposal says the Communication Ministry did not entertain the request placed by the joint venture of two South Korean firms – the Samsung C&T Corporation and the DAELIM-Larsen and Toubro Limited – for extending the time of its financial offer by 10 and 12 weeks.
On May 11, 2010, the government floated the first tender for appointing the constructor of the Padma bridge in 2011. At that time, the project cost was Tk9,127.17 crore.
However, the tender process was suspended in August 2011 following allegations of corruption conspiracy raised by the World Bank.
The final tender was floated on June 26 last year and the China Major Bridge submitted its main financial offer on April 24 this year. The Bridges Division proposal says the Chinese company offered to build the Padma bridge at a cost of Tk12,133.39 crore – an increase of Tk3,006.22 crore from earlier.Padma Bridge Project Director M Shafiqul Islam said the increase was normal because of the delay and re-tendering.“But China Major Bridge has offered 12.62% [Tk1,752 crore] less cost than the estimated Tk13,885.85 crore as mentioned in the tender,” he said.
Economist AB Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the main tender of the Padma bridge would have been competitive and the construction cost of the Padma bridge would have been lower if the two South Korean firms had participated.
He said the Communication Ministry had made the decision as the Bridges Division had not entertained the request of the Korean firms.
Mentioning that the upgrading work of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway to a four-lane one by a Chinese firm was yet to finish in around four years, the former adviser to a caretaker government said Chinese companies had a bad reputation in the field.
- See more at: Padma bridge cost up by Tk3,000cr | Dhaka Tribune
