CHATTOGRAM, July 23: A contractor-funded training visit to Sweden by five government and Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) officials has sparked questions over its legality and necessity, with critics alleging the trip breaches procurement rules and contractual provisions.
Five officials, including the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Secretary and the Private Secretary to the Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives, are scheduled to travel to Sweden for training on the operation and maintenance of double-drum road rollers.
According to a revised approval letter issued by the Local Government Division on July 6, the five officials will visit Sweden for 10 days from July 25 to August 3.
They are Md Moniruzzaman, Private Secretary to the Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives; CCC Secretary Mohammad Ashraful Amin; CCC Project Director and Superintending Engineer Jasim Uddin; CCC Executive Engineer Md Ashikul Islam; and CCC Executive Engineer Muhammad Imran Hossain Khoka.
The original approval, issued on October 27, 2025, included Md Abdur Rahman, a Deputy Secretary of the Local Government Division.
However, a revised order bearing the same reference number replaced him with the minister's Private Secretary.
The revised order also extended the duration of the visit from seven to 10 days and specified that all travel expenses would be borne by the contractor, M/s Sarkar Kabir Ahmed.
The proposed visit has prompted questions over why the CCC Secretary, the minister's Private Secretary and senior engineers are participating in training intended for machine operators.
Concerns have also been raised over the need for a 10-day overseas training programme six months after the equipment was delivered, particularly when the contract required a one-day operation and maintenance (O&M) training session at the work site in Chattogram within seven days of delivery.
Experts say the arrangement may be inconsistent with several legal and procurement provisions.
M/s Sarkar Kabir Ahmed was awarded the contract to supply five double-drum road rollers under a Tk 25 billion CCC development project.
Under Clause 12 of the tender agreement, the contractor was required to provide one day of operation and maintenance training at the work site for a Sub-Assistant Engineer (Mechanical) and one operator for each machine within seven days of delivery.
The contract also required a pre-shipment inspection by three technical officials nominated by the purchasing authority in the country of manufacture before the machinery was dispatched.
However, according to data from Chattogram Custom House (CCH), the machines arrived in Bangladesh on 5 January 2026 and were delivered to the CCC's Dampara CNG refuelling station on 9 January.
Despite this, the officials are now scheduled to travel to Sweden six months after the road rollers were delivered.
The approval letter also shows that permission for a seven-day visit to Sweden had originally been granted in October 2025. However, the visit did not take place because of restrictions on overseas travel for government officials during the tenure of the interim government.
That approval was later superseded by fresh authorisation for the July-August 2026 visit.
Advocate Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, General Secretary of the Chattogram district chapter of Shushashoner Jonyo Nagorik (SHUJAN), questioned the rationale behind the trip.
"The Prime Minister recently rejected a proposal for the CCC Mayor and other officials to visit the United States to observe mosquito control measures. In that context, how reasonable is it to send officials abroad to receive training on operating road rollers? Will they return and operate the machines themselves?" he said.
He also argued that allowing the contractor to bear the travel costs could ultimately increase the public cost of the project, as such expenses may be recovered through contract implementation, resulting in an indirect burden on taxpayers.
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