Chinese co to build China EIZ without tender

[Black_cats]

Chinese co to build China EIZ without tender​

Staff Correspondent | Published: 16:43, Aug 16,2023 | Updated: 23:56, Aug 16,2023

China Road and Bridge Corporation will construct infrastructure for the establishment of a Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone at Anwara in Chattogram.

It will build an infrastructure on 784 acres of land under the direct purchase method, said additional cabinet secretary Md Amin Ul Ahsan after a meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs on Wednesday.

The meeting, presided over by finance minister AHM Mustafa, agreed in principle to award the deal to the Chinese company without any tender.

Amin said that the construction costs would be met by a loan from the government of China.

The construction costs will be disclosed later on, he said.

The same proposal had been placed before the committee in the past, but that was sent back for further review, he said.

In 2014, the Chinese government expressed its willingness to build the economic zone during prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to China.

In 2022, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority signed an agreement with CRBC to set up a Chinese CEIZ at Anwara, some 18 kilometres away from the country’s main seaport in Chattogram.

It has been reported that the government of Bangladesh has sought around $280 million in loans from China for building the infrastructure of the economic zone and providing various services.

A meeting of the cabinet committee on government purchase was also held on Wednesday.

The meeting, also presided over by the finance minister, approved a proposal from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh seeking the purchase of 80 lakh litres of soya bean through an open local tender.

Super Oil Refinery Ltd won the deal, quoting per litre soya bean oil at Tk 159.95.

Md Amin said per litre soya bean oil was purchased at Tk 159.45 in the immediate past purchase deal.

Besides, the committee also approved six more proposals — three from the Roads and Highways Department — under the same project, two from the Education Ministry relating to the purchase of books, and one from Bangladesh Railway on its Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar section of the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar rail-line project—during the same meeting.

A consortium of Ohiduzzaman Chowdhury and Janmabumi Nirmata was awarded all three packages worth around Tk 434 crore under the reconstruction of the Derai-Shalla part of the Madanpur-Azamiriganj highway.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board will purchase 3.53 crore books at Tk 94.28 crore from 47 bidders through an open tender for distributing those freely to primary-level students.

It will also purchase 4.45 crore books for Tk 180.2 lakh to distribute those freely to students of secondary and higher education.

The cabinet committee approved the BR proposal seeking a variation of Tk 87 lakh for the rehabilitation part implemented by a non-government organisation.

Md Amin said this was the second variation. The first variation involved over Tk 1 crore, he added.

Answering a question, he said that the variation was not linked to the recent damage to the rail line’s Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar section.

Rain and flood water have recently washed away ballast, stones, and soil under some 450 metres of the tracks in the Temuhuni area under Satkania upazila.

Chinese co to build China EIZ without tender

China Road and Bridge Corporation will construct infrastructure for the establishment of a Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone at Anwara in Chattogram. It will build an infrastructure on 784 acres of land under the...

www.newagebd.net

 

[saif]

We need Chinese investments in construction, electronics, computer, heavy engineering, and textile industries. I hope the construction work for the 2nd Padma bridge would be given to a Chinese company.

 

[mb444]

I do not have issues with china but this is not good. Public sector projects should be open for all to bid on. There should transparency.

BD firms possibly has missed out here.

 

[IndianLite]

I do not have issues with china but this is not good. Public sector projects should be open for all to bid on. There should transparency.

BD firms possibly has missed out here.

Given Bangladesh’s LDC status and profitability of the proposed projects - it is not able to attract FDI.

And it is also not able to finance the projects by itself due to lack of tax collection. Which is due to the size of Bangladesh’s dollar based middle class. India has a much higher number due to the IT sector, stock market and petro chemical sector.

Bangladesh’s manufacturing based growth model provides more jobs than India’s service model - but it’s at the cost of a large tax paying middle class.

Which has forced Bangladesh to use its geopolitical influence to get nation state financing.

Downside of that model is that your involvement in the projects will be limited.

There are ONLY TWO CHOICES:

1. Rapid infrastructure development using foreign state financing

Or

2. Slow development using own financing and own workforce. Quality will also be lower because of a lack of expertise

India and USA obviously wants BD to opt for option 2.

It’s a win, win for them…

Slow development keeps BD at their mery

Self financing keeps BD away from the Chinese bogeyman

 

[mb444]

Given Bangladesh’s LDC status and profitability of the proposed projects - it is not able to attract FDI.

And it is also not able to finance the projects by itself due to lack of tax collection. Which is due to the size of Bangladesh’s dollar based middle class. India has a much higher number due to the IT sector, stock market and petro chemical sector.

Bangladesh’s manufacturing based growth model provides more jobs than India’s service model - but it’s at the cost of a large tax paying middle class.

Which has forced Bangladesh to use its geopolitical influence to get nation state financing.

Downside of that model is that your involvement in the projects will be limited.

There are ONLY TWO CHOICES:

1. Rapid infrastructure development using foreign state financing

Or

2. Slow development using own financing and own workforce. Quality will also be lower because of a lack of expertise

India and USA obviously wants BD to opt for option 2.

It’s a win, win for them…

Slow development keeps BD at their mery

Self financing keeps BD away from the Chinese bogeyman

In some respect your points are valid. But in this case all that is involved is is filling and preparing grounds, establishing utility lines and road network. Many many BD firms can take care of this.
At the very least open tender should have issued with tight timelines. The chinese firm probably still have won it or it would have compelled them to have greater local input.

On principal there should be open tender.

However if the chinese firm can facilitate actual FDI pipeline then not a bad descision but the report does not hint at such. It simply is a contract that has gone to the chinese that BD is paying for.

 

[saif]

In some respect your points are valid. But in this case all that is involved is is filling and preparing grounds, establishing utility lines and road network. Many many BD firms can take care of this.
At the very least open tender should have issued with tight timelines. The chinese firm probably still have won it or it would have compelled them to have greater local input.

On principal there should be open tender.

However if the chinese firm can facilitate actual FDI pipeline then not a bad descision but the report does not hint at such. It simply is a contract that has gone to the chinese that BD is paying for.

I don't want to lose Chinese support for the sake of open bidding. If the Chinese firms are not there then the vacuum will be filled by the Indian firms, which I think is contrary to our national interest.

 

[mb444]

I don't want to lose Chinese support for the sake of open bidding. If the Chinese firms are not there then the vacuum will be filled by the Indian firms, which I think is contrary to our national interest.

I dont think you fully understand what i am saying.

 

[IndianLite]

In some respect your points are valid. But in this case all that is involved is is filling and preparing grounds, establishing utility lines and road network. Many many BD firms can take care of this.
At the very least open tender should have issued with tight timelines. The chinese firm probably still have won it or it would have compelled them to have greater local input.

On principal there should be open tender.

However if the chinese firm can facilitate actual FDI pipeline then not a bad descision but the report does not hint at such. It simply is a contract that has gone to the chinese that BD is paying for.

I think the low level stuff has gone to local BAL goons - covered up by the Chinese.

BAL goons think it’s their reward for keeping BD Mullah and Marshall Law free.

As you said, BD should not fret too much about who builds the infra as long as the infra facilitates FDI into the export sector and import substitutions.

Building up internal tourism sector is also very important to give the middle class a way to let off steam without spending foreign currency.

Which looks like it is doing..

If the QUAD doesn’t like Chinese infra - they can always build it themselves instead of whining. India, especially, whines about Chinese “debt trap” but then offers mega crooks like Adani!!!

I dont think you fully understand what i am saying.

His hijab blurs his side vision. Making him a very dangerous, accident prone, pedestrian.

 

[saif]

His hijab blurs his side vision. Making him a very dangerous, accident prone, pedestrian.

Stop worrying about hijab. Start worrying about multiple ids.