Chinese firms engaged in 2 major road expansion projects disappear

Munima Sultana At least three Chinese companies involved with the construction of two major highway expansion projects have disappeared from their respective work sites since long, thus, slowing down the pace of implementation of the projects. The projects are the Dhaka-Chittagong and the Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane projects. Officials of the ministry of commerce said of the three companies--- Sino Hydro has been absent from the construction sites of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway for the last five to six months. The company was supposed to complete material collection work for all of the seven package areas of 193-kilometre (km) arterial road during the current rainy season. Instead of doing the work, the officials said, the Chinese firm left the country, leading to the suspension of work in their part of the project. "We do not know how the work of the highway would be completed during the next dry season as the Sino Hydro was responsible for doing the major part of the 193 km work," said an official. The officials said, two Chinese companies of Dhaka-Mymensingh four-lane project, the Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC) and the Metallurgical Construction Company of China (MCCC) have been absent from their respective project sites almost from the beginning of the project. The two companies each won contracts for 30 km work in 2010 under joint venture arrangement. The local partners of the joint venture have been continuing their work in spite of the absence of their Chinese partners. However, they could not make the desired level of progress in their work. "All these three Chinese firms could not achieve even 50 per cent progress of their respective works although they were supposed to complete the same by this time," said an official. He said the companies concerned have not responded to letters sent to them repeatedly. According to the monthly progress report of Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project, Sino Hydro, which won contract in 2010, could complete only 38 per cent of its scheduled work. The progress of the two packages of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway was only 30 per cent, the official said. "We have hardly found the two Chinese firms at the construction sites of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway during the last two years and a half. But they were supposed to carry the work as lead partners," said an official preferring not to be named. It is alleged that both the MBEC and the MCCC authorised their respective local partner companies to do the work and left the country taking some commission from the latter soon after the work order was given. The FE tried to reach the project officials of the Sino Hydro over cell phone but failed to reach them. The Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project officials said of the Chinese company's seven packages, some material collection work has been done at package nos 6, 8 and 9. But progress in the rest of the packages is poor. They said performance of the two local companies responsible for the work in three packages of the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project is satisfactory. The MBEC won the work forming a joint venture with the Project Builder Ltd, a local company. The MCCI formed joint venture with Shamim Enterprise Ltd and Toma Construction to complete 29.60 km road from Mawna to Raimoni and 27.33 km road from Raimoni to Mymensingh in 20 months. But after 30 months, only 30 per cent work was completed up to August last, the project office added.