Timely completion of Dhaka-Ctg 4-lane highway continues to elude RHD

Munima Sultana | Published: February 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: February 24, 2014 23:46:51

The timely implementation of the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project continues to be uncertain as the stalemate between the project's major foreign contractor and the government over compensation persists.
Sources said the standoff between the two parties over the issue continues to persist as both sides are stucking to their respective positions slowing down the progress in project implementation.
Sinohydro Corporation Ltd, the Chinese contractor responsible for widening 70 per cent of the 193-kilometre highway, raised the issue of compensation because of the loss of time for several reasons including the political disturbance before the last general election.
The company spent one year without doing anything, as the project office could not render the required services. Moreover, the project design was changed that was also blamed for the delay, the sources said. All those increased the maintenance costs of the company's site office.
Due to extension of the project tenure three times since the contract was signed with them in 2010, the Chinese firm now demands revision of the contract.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the agency implementing the Tk 32 billion project, however, said there was no scope of such compensation and revision as per the contract signed with the Chinese firm.
Because of the standoff between the two sides, the work for widening the country's main economic corridor has been going on at a slow pace wasting the prime construction season of October-February.
"As we have missed the current season, it may take one or two construction seasons to complete the entire package," said an official of the project office.
When contacted, He Fengshuo of Sinohydro informed the FE that with the lapse of 48 months they tried their best and went through various difficulties to speed up the construction work.
It has been learnt that the firm had claimed Tk 2.91 billion for the delay of 11 months to start the ground level work, as the supervision consultant for the project was not appointed. They also claimed an additional amount of Tk 2.2 billion for the reasons like extension of the project period.
Project officials, however, alleged that as the Chinese firm had won the work by quoting a rate much below the market price, they were now trying to make up for the loss by raising various demands including compensation.
"We do agree there was a delay in the beginning the project. But our project also suffered for different reasons like the Chinese firm did not do the work under all packages at a time," said a senior official denying that there was any scope of compensation.
As no amicable solution could be reached, sources said, only arbitration could now resolve the issue under the public procurement rules, which, however, may further delay the project.
The project director through the Chinese Embassy wrote to the high-ups at the Sinohydro headquarters to intervene in this regard. The project office said they were yet to get any response from the firm.
Earlier, communications minister Obaidul Quader informed the Chinese ambassador in Dhaka of the situation and sought his government's intervention to help resume work by the Chinese firm.
Sources said the issue was now being dealt with by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Prime Minister had stepped in to resolve the crisis in consideration of the importance of the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor.
Project director Ibne Alam Hasan sounded optimistic about the future of the project and said it would be completed in time.
The RHD awarded the 192.3 km Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project work to three constructing firms-Sinohydro Corporation Ltd of China, Reza Construction Ltd, and Taher Brothers-ACL joint venture of Bangladesh in 2010. Of the total work, the Chinese firm is responsible for widening 140 kilometres of the highway under the packages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 while the two Bangladeshi firms are responsible for doing the remaining work under the packages 1, 7 and 10.