BBA getting ready to invite Padma tenders June 30

Munima Sultana The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) is taking preparation to invite tenders on the main construction works for the Padma bridge on June 30. However, the project's foreign design consultants are yet to revise the international tender document. Officials said the AECOM Maunsell was officially informed through a letter last month to start the review and evaluation work of the tender document as per the terms of the contract that was earlier signed between itself and the government. But they are yet to arrive in the country, they added. "Though we are expecting them here soon, we are doing our part of the review, targeting June 30 as the date for launching the tender," said project director (PD) Md Shafiqul Islam. He, however, said the tender document on the Padma bridge construction now needs to be reviewed only due to the change in the original funding arrangement for the US $ 2.95 billion project. It will now be implemented with the government's own financial resources, instead of foreign funding, as was envisaged earlier. The officials said work on the Padma multipurpose bridge project has already started with a special allocation of fund to the tune of Tk 68.52 billion by the government for the next fiscal. When asked about the floatation of tenders on the river training work, another important component of the Padma Bridge project, the PD said it would take another month as the international consultants would conduct a survey on the course of the river to understand its nature of changes taking place during the past few years. He said they have to conduct a survey to understand the changes in the course of the river during the last three years and the findings would be incorporated in the tender document before inviting bids for it. Five companies have already been short-listed for doing the main bridge construction work and the river training work. Officials said the tenders on the Mawa approach road and service areas were already invited and all the pre-qualified companies collected the documents. Besides, the officials said the work on the Jajira approach road has already begun and the Bangladesh Army is also there to supervise the work. Despite the progress, another official said it is important that the project's design consultant started their work as all the pre-qualified companies 'are concerned about the evaluation of their proposals'. "The contractors have sought to know who will evaluate their proposals. They are more confident about the foreign experts than the local ones as far as evaluation of their proposals is concerned," he said preferring not to be named. Since the government took a decision to start the project with its own fund at the end of January, it invited AECOM Maunsell to resume the remaining evaluation work. Earlier the Auckland-based consulting firm packed up without completing the work as per the contract, following a conflict between the government and the project's main financier - the World Bank (WB) -- over an allegation of a corruption conspiracy concerning the project. This created incertainties about the project, from September 2011. Later, the cabinet purchase committee approved $ 2.0 million as demanded by the consulting firm, following the government's decision to execute the project with its funding support. The BBA invited tenders on the Mawa approach road and the Jajira side service area development on April 23. The closing date for the tender is July 15. Abul Monem limited with a Malaysian company was given the work for the Jajira approach road and the contract with the firm was signed in the first week of this month. During the contract signing-ceremony, the minister for communication announced June 30 as the date for floatation of tenders on the 6.15-kilometre-long bridge work, but stated then the finance minister would give details about the project during the current budget session of Jatiya Sangshad (JS). However, the finance minister at his post-budget press conference said the government was waiting for the AECOM and expressed hope to issue the work order on the main bridge construction by December next.