Accord with Chinese company today

The government is set to sign an agreement with a Chinese company to construct a third bridge over the Shitalakhya River to establish link between Chittagong and southwestern districts through the Padma Bridge.
Sinohydro Corporation, which did the expansion work of the country's prime highway on Dhaka-Chittagong the corridor and also now responsible for river training work of Padma Bridge, has won the work order against its quotation of Tk 4.48 billion.
A signing ceremony between the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Sinohydro Corporation will be held in presence of Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader at a city hotel on Wednesday.
According to the Project Office, the 2.13 km bridge will be constructed keeping Narayanganj Bandar upazila on one side and Syedpur of Narayanganj Sadar upazila on the other.
This four-lane bridge will be completed in 36 months.
The Saudi Development Fund (SDF) will provide US$45 million for the project under an agreement signed in 2011.
However, sources said the Chinese company's proposed cost was higher than the estimated cost of the bridge earmarked in the development project proposal (DPP) of the 3rd Shitalakhya Bridge construction project.
The project cost under the approved DPP was Tk 3.7 billion at the time it was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in November 2010.
Following the higher quotation, the project cost is likely to be hiked to Tk 5.39 billion.
Officials said the process to revise the DPP has already been initiated which has led the company to do the job for the third time.
The second revision was done in December 2016 due to delay in implementation of the project. The project also faced delay because of cancellation of the first bidding by the project financiers on the ground of not being responsive according to its rule.
According to the SDF, three companies should be qualified in its funded project to open financial proposals.
    smunima@yahoo.com