Dhaka-Ctg 4-lane project may take one more year to complete

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Munima Sultana | Published: May 06, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

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It may take one more year to complete the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project due to slow progress in widening the highway, though political disturbance was rather absent during the last three months, said officials.
Expansion work of the country's main corridor was almost suspended during the last one year until this January due to political disturbance and non-cooperation by the project's Chinese contractor to continue the work.  
They said the country's political situation has improved during the last three months. But progress of the important project remained slow until March. Four-laning of only 13 kilometre of the 193-km highway has so far been completed.
According to the progress report until last month, surface work of only 12.4 kilometre has been completed, while binder course work has been done on 57.7 km area, and base course work on 63.6 km.  
"The way the work is progressing, it will take till next June to see a good portion of the highway completed and December 2015 for total completion," said an official involved in the project's implementation.
Project Director Ebne Alam Ahmed, however, said the deadline to complete the project remains fixed at December 2014, and they are still on the move to complete the work by then.
Sources said Sino Hydro, the Chinese firm responsible for the project's 70 per cent work, is yet to recover from fund shortage, and cannot start the work in full swing until April.
They said the Chinese company faces financial crisis, as it has not received any fund from Beijing office. All its dues were met by the implementing agency -- the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).
According to the Bangladesh Bank's foreign exchange department, the company is yet to apply for brining any remittance from its own country as per the rule.
RHD and Sino Hydro were locked in conflict last year after the Chinese firm claimed over Tk 5.0 billion as compensation to offset their financial loss due to delay in implementing the project and political turmoil that continued until December 2013.
RHD refused to pay the claim on the ground of breaching agreement signed between the two parties.  But the firm agreed to resume the work with its own fund in February, following intervention of the Chinese Embassy and Sino Hydro headquarters to provide necessary fund to complete the work.
He Fengshuo of Sino Hydro informed the FE that it has intensified implementation of the project, but still awaits cooperation from the RHD for an amicable settlement regarding their claim.
He, however, did not reply to the query as to how they would manage fund to carry the rest of the project work.
A project official said the Chinese contractor resumed work of all its packages in April. But it could not continue the work in full swing due to end of the dry season and inability to manage necessary materials in time. They could make good progress if two packages by December.
The progress report until March shows that the Chinese company could complete nearly 50 per cent work in two package areas. The progress in package-2 was 14.80 per cent, package-3 21 per cent, 18 per cent in package-5, and 27 per cent in package-8.
The company won 140 km work in packages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 against Tk 11.51 billion in 2010.  
Sources also said work on the rest packages -- 1, 7 and 10, won by Reza Construction Ltd and joint venture of Taher Brothers Ltd and Al-Amin Construction Ltd -- was satisfactory and may be completed by December.