Chinese co gets main Padma Bridge job

A Chinese company has got the job of constructing the main structure of the Padma Bridge at a cost of Tk 121.33 billion.
The cabinet committee on government purchase gave its nod to the offer of the lone company, China Major Bridge Engineering Co Ltd (CMBEC), at its meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair Thursday.
The CMBEC quoted Tk 121.33 billion for building the 6.15-kilometre-long bridge structure, which was around 12 per cent less than the revised estimated cost.
After the meeting, the Finance Minister told the journalists that final approval to the Chinese firm will be given after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signs the deal before leaving the country for her official visit to Japan.
He said the contract of the Padma Bridge construction work is likely to be signed in the first week of June adding that the construction would start by October-November next with a target to finish it in four years.
However, the finance minister refrained from answering any questions from the journalists present there.
Sources said the purchase committee made some queries including tax-related matters but approved the selection made by the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA).
"We answered all the queries during the meeting as the selection was made transparently and properly," said an official who attended the meeting preferring not to be named.
However, observers raised the question of selecting the Chinese firm as it was the lone company which submitted the financial proposal among the three firms.
They said due to the government's target to start the project without further delay, the BBA did not make any query to the financial proposal.
"Only one or two queries were made on minor issues which the CMBEC answered without delay," said a source.
The Padma Bridge project has already been delayed by three years due to complications centring the allegation of the World Bank in 2011 over corruption conspiracy in the bidding process.
The Chinese firm submitted the financial proposal offering Tk 29.61 billion more than the project's initial cost for the bridge construction estimated in 2010.
The BBA, the executing agency of the project, revised the cost of the main bridge construction to $1.77 billion (Tk 13,886 crore) following delay in the project implementation for three years due to cancellation of the World Bank's financing of the project.
The first estimated cost for the two tier bridge was Tk 91.72 billion.
The BBA earlier invited CMBEC along with Daelim - L&T joint venture and Samsung C&T Corp, to submit financial offers as the technical evaluation committee (TEC) found their technical offers feasible in March.
The CMBEC is experienced in making the 26.4 mile-long Qingdao Haiwan Bridge - the world's largest bridge over sea. It also constructed the 1.6 km Paksey bridge in the country which experts found to be high in quality. However the Chinese firm is controversial for its performance in the Dhaka-Mymensign Highway Project.