Ital-Thai looks to break DEE fund stalemate with Sinohydro

The Thai company assigned to construct the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE) is trying to hammer out a financial deal with the Chinese company contracted for the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project.
Sources said the Italian Thai Development Public Company Limited informed the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) of it at a meeting on Wednesday.
The development came after the last deadline for its financial report submission expired in June last.
The Italian Thai Development Public Company Limited called a meeting to get the Chinese company's financial status.
The Italian-Thai has been trying to manage the fund since 2011, when it signed its agreement with the BBA to construct the 46-kilometre expressway from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the Sonir Akhra point of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Sources said as the project is facing multifarious problems, the BBA has long been extending time for submission of the financial report.
Sources said the meeting attended by the Italian-Thai President assured the BBA of signing an agreement with the Sinohydro to secure its job as a sub-contractor for the country's first expressway project.
Despite dissatisfactory performance in the DEE, the Thai company has recently been awarded one package of the country's first metro rail project along with Sinohydro Corporation Limited China. The Chinese company is also held as one of those responsible for the delay in the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway construction.
smunima@yahoo.com