Firms given until April 24 to submit financial offers

The time was extended by three weeks for the technically-responsive international firms to submit financial offers on construction of the main Padma bridge.
The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) extended Thursday the time till April 24 on request from two firms out of the three that had been found technically sound.
Officials said Daelim L&T JV of India and the Samsung C&T Corp of South Korea had requested the authority for extension of the time as they needed more time to prepare their financial offers on the project's expensive part of work.
The BBA launched the tender on June 25, 2013 for the US $ 1.34 billion job of constructing the country's biggest bridge over the river Padma on June 25, 2013 inviting four
pre-qualified firms to bid for it.
However, three out of the four firms submitted their technical offers on January 6 following extension of the deadline on four occasions from September. Of the four pre-qualified firms, the Vinci-HCC JV did not participate in the technical bidding.
The financial offers from the remaining three firms were invited on March 5 through a letter as recommended by the Technical Evaluation Committee.
The Chinese firm-China Major Bridge Engineering Co Ltd-did not place any request for extension of the time.
Meanwhile, Communications Minister Obaidul Quader ruled out the possibility of any delay in starting the construction of the Padma bridge reaffirming that it would be done by June.
Since the US $ 2.9 billion Padma Multipurpose Bridge project faced a financing crisis after its foreign financiers had withdrawn support, the minister on several occasions mentioned the time for starting the construction work.
Sources said the two firms, which had requested for extension of time for submitting financial offers, had wanted bonds from the government before participating in the final bidding as they had doubts about getting payment in time.
A project official on condition of anonymity told the FE that the demand of the two firms had been turned down on the ground that the government's signing of agreement with a qualified firm would also be considered a guarantee of payment.
The Chinese firm, however, did not demand any guarantee from the government.
Sources said the technical offer for the second most important work of the Padma Bridge project was yet to be completed as the foreign consulting firm had some queries for the pre-qualified firms to answer before finalising the recommendation. The firms have been given until April 10 to submit the required information.
"It may take more time to award the firm the river training work as they are yet to get the financial offers from them," said another official.