Contractors allay fears over Dhaka-Ctg 4-lane project
Friday, 2 April 2010
Munima Sultana
Three contractors tasked to expand the Dhaka-Chittagong highway into four lanes have said they are well on course to build the road in time, allaying fears that the key project would be delayed.
The contractors - Chinese company Sinohydro Corporation and two Bangladeshi firms -last year won the bid to widen the existing road into four-lane highway by 2013 at a cost of Tk24.4 billion.
With no construction work yet in sight three months after the bid awarding, questions were raised whether the companies could finish the job in time.
The companies Thursday told the FE that they had already started groundwork for the project, adding that the construction would begin in months and be completed by 2013.
"We have already set up site office, started surveying the lane area and also cut down trees to clear the way for lane expansion," said an official of Reza Construction, one of the three contractors.
"We are well on schedule to finish the job by end of 2013," he added.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the government agency that hired the contractors, also came in defence of the three companies.
"The preparatory work for the construction is going on in full swing," said RHD's project director Mohammad Mafizul Islam.
"It takes several months to complete preliminary ground work. And the companies have already made desired progress," he added.
He said the government has handed over the sites to the bid winners and provided necessary support to carry out their mobilisation work.
"In the first six months, the firms will be busy for site development and these work are now being carried out in full swing," the director told the FE.
He also said Sinohydro corp, which has set up its local office earlier this year, has been waiting for arrival of their machinery into the country.
Plans to expand the Dhaka-chittagong corridor into four lanes were initiated in 2004 but the bidding process was cancelled twice in 2006 and 2008 due to alleged unfair practice.
Experts said the project is crucial for the country's economic growth as the existing highway between Dhaka and Chittagong -- the main economic corridor of the country, is very narrow and faces chronic congestion, delaying exports and imports.
According to a study by the RHD, on average 18,000 motor vehicles use the road every day, making it the busiest highways in the country.
Expansion of the road into four lanes has become a necessity due to double digit growth of traffic on the road every year.
Three contractors tasked to expand the Dhaka-Chittagong highway into four lanes have said they are well on course to build the road in time, allaying fears that the key project would be delayed.
The contractors - Chinese company Sinohydro Corporation and two Bangladeshi firms -last year won the bid to widen the existing road into four-lane highway by 2013 at a cost of Tk24.4 billion.
With no construction work yet in sight three months after the bid awarding, questions were raised whether the companies could finish the job in time.
The companies Thursday told the FE that they had already started groundwork for the project, adding that the construction would begin in months and be completed by 2013.
"We have already set up site office, started surveying the lane area and also cut down trees to clear the way for lane expansion," said an official of Reza Construction, one of the three contractors.
"We are well on schedule to finish the job by end of 2013," he added.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the government agency that hired the contractors, also came in defence of the three companies.
"The preparatory work for the construction is going on in full swing," said RHD's project director Mohammad Mafizul Islam.
"It takes several months to complete preliminary ground work. And the companies have already made desired progress," he added.
He said the government has handed over the sites to the bid winners and provided necessary support to carry out their mobilisation work.
"In the first six months, the firms will be busy for site development and these work are now being carried out in full swing," the director told the FE.
He also said Sinohydro corp, which has set up its local office earlier this year, has been waiting for arrival of their machinery into the country.
Plans to expand the Dhaka-chittagong corridor into four lanes were initiated in 2004 but the bidding process was cancelled twice in 2006 and 2008 due to alleged unfair practice.
Experts said the project is crucial for the country's economic growth as the existing highway between Dhaka and Chittagong -- the main economic corridor of the country, is very narrow and faces chronic congestion, delaying exports and imports.
According to a study by the RHD, on average 18,000 motor vehicles use the road every day, making it the busiest highways in the country.
Expansion of the road into four lanes has become a necessity due to double digit growth of traffic on the road every year.