Japan international cooperation agency (JICA) has rejected outright Dhaka metro-rail company's request to cancel entire biddings on two contract packages for MRT-5 North, on a note of "disappointment with the request",
"Jica will not concur on any such request," Yoshida Hirosh of the agency says in a letter Sunday to the Project Director.
He, however, shows the grounds for the cancellation as breach of JICA guidelines section 5 and 10 which are legally binding guidelines as per the JICA loan agreements.
Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) requested the Japanese financing agency in two separate letters issued on November 2 and November 3 on grounds that the evaluated bid prices of CP 5 and CP 2 of the MRT 5 'significantly exceed the allocations specified in the DPP'. Managing Director of DMTCL Faruque Ahmed confirms having received the letter and they had a meeting with JICA, the Rail and Road Adviser and Road Transport and Highways Division secretary.
In the letter, which already circulated on social media, senior representative of JICA Yoshida Hirosh has expressed reservation on the cancellation request at the stage of final selection through following procedures.
He says DMTCL has already completed both technical and financial evaluation and concluded that 'the lowest evaluated bids for both packages are substantially responsive, competitive and acceptable'.
The concurrences were issued based on shared understanding that due process had been followed and the evaluated bid prices reflected a fair and competitive outcome.
The Tk 412.38-billion MRT-5 North project on metro rail received final concurrence of CP-5 bid-price-evaluation report on September 5, 2025 and CP 2 on February 20, starting the process in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
The company, which is now under new management led by the Bangladeshi expatriate expert in MRT construction work as its MD, has identified the issues of high quotations and narrow pool of Japanese firms in almost all bids after his joining in February.
Due to starting reevaluation of all bidding processes, metro-rail projects have been slowed down. The Japanese Embassy has also issued a letter to the government to expedite the process of all MRTs.
smunima@yahoo.com
