Consultants likely to start work from next month

FE Team | Published: December 18, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
A New Zealand-US joint-venture (JV) company is likely to start working on the design for the proposed Padma Bridge next month as it has agreed to do the job at a cost of US$16.5 million, officials said Wednesday.
The government has completed negotiations on the financial offer of the technically qualified consulting firm -- Maunsel-Aecom -- early this month aiming to issue the work order by January next year, a senior Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) official told the FE.
"First, the New Zealand-US JV company offered $19.7 million to do the design work. The government in October this year sat with the company for reducing their financial offer. They revised the offer at $17.47 million," the official said.
The government again started negotiations with the firm in end-November for reducing the cost further. The Maunsel-Aecom finally lowered their final offer to $16.5 million, he said requesting anonymity.
The official BBA said now we are ready to give work order to the New Zealand-US JV company by next month if the government and the key financier for the Padma Bridge project --Asian Development Bank (ADB) -- gives green signal.
In August this year, the Maunsel-Aecom was selected for preparing detailed design of the US$1.8 billion Padma Bridge.
After completing bidding process, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with the help of the government selected the technically top-ranked New Zealand-US JV company for the work.
"As per official schedule, the selected consulting firm will get 22 months to complete the design. But we will request the firm to complete the work within a shorter period than the stipulated period," the BBA official said.
The ADB sought technical proposals from five international consulting firms, which were short-listed earlier, for the design work of the proposed Padma Bridge.
The four other short-listed firms are: TY Lin International Group Ltd of the United States; Over Arup and Partners International Ltd of Hong Kong in joint venture with Schlaich Bergermann UND Partner and Consulting Engineering Services; High Point Rendel of the United Kingdom in joint venture with Royal Haskoning and BCL Associates Ltd; and Nippon KOEI Company Ltd of Japan in joint venture with Pacific Consultants International, COWI A/S, DHI, BELLER Consult and Development Design Consultants Ltd Bangladesh.
First the caretaker government estimated $1.6 billion construction cost for the Padma Bridge. It has later escalated to $1.8 billion due to price hike of construction materials in the global market, the official said.
The government will construct the 5.558 kilometre Padma Bridge that will link the country's highest poverty-prone southwest zone with the advanced zones including capital Dhaka.
The BBA official said they expect the main construction work of the road-cum-railway bridge, largest in the country, would start in early 2011 over the mighty river Padma aiming to complete it by FY 2015.
Out of the required total $1.8 billion cost, the World Bank, ADB and Islamic Development Bank had already assured the government to provide some $950 million while the biggest bilateral donor Japan has also shown interest to finance for the project without confirming any amount.