Deal with Chinese firm to be signed on June 17

 Signing of the contract with the Chinese company for construction of the much-awaited Padma Bridge at a cost of Tk 121 billion will be held on June 17 (Tuesday).

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the executing agency of the US$2.9 billion Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project, fixed the date on Thursday after the China Major Bridge Engineering Company (CMBEC) confirmed bank guarantee.

Officials said the Chinese company through a local bank, UCBL, furnished 10 per cent guarantee of the total cost of the bridge which is equivalent to Tk 12 billion.

The CMBEC quoted Tk 121.33 billion for building the 6.15-kilometre-long main bridge in April.

Though the Chinese company was the single firm which submitted its financial offer among the three technically qualified companies, the government accepted the lone offer to avoid further delay in starting the country's longest and state-of-the-art bridge.

The offer was, however, around 12 per cent less than the revised estimated cost of the Padma Bridge construction.

The Padma Bridge Project is already three years behind schedule due to complications centring an allegation of corruption in the bidding process raised by the World Bank in 2011.

Due to the delay, the cost of the main bridge construction was revised upward to Tk138.86 billion from Tk91.72 billion.

After getting the lone Chinese offer, the BBA evaluated it through its foreign consultant in May last which was later reviewed by its technical evaluation committee headed by professor Jamilur Reza Chowdhury.

The BBA earlier invited CMBEC along with Daelim - L&T joint venture and Samsung C&T Corp, to submit financial offers as the technical evaluation committee (TEC) found their technical offers feasible in March last.

The CMBEC is experienced in constructing the 26.4 mile-long Qingdao Haiwan Bridge - the world's largest bridge over sea. It also constructed the 1.6 km Paksey Bridge in the country which experts found to be of high quality. However, the Chinese firm is controversial for its performance in the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway Project.

The cabinet committee on government purchase gave its nod to the offer of the lone Chinese company on May 22.

The firm is likely to get 26 per cent of the work cost in local currency and the rest in foreign currency.