Japanese JV bags metro rail procurement contract

A Japanese joint-venture company has been selected to provide train sets and depot equipment for operating the country's first metro rail system to be established between southern and northern corridors of the city.
The Kawasaki and Mitsubishi Joint Venture Company was selected after a board of directors of Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTC) approved its financial offer of Tk 32 billion as the lowest bidder.
As the wholly owned-government company, DMTC has the authority to select companies for all component work of the mass transit system.
Sources said after getting the board's approval on July 16, letter of acceptance was sent to the company on Thursday.
According to the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development (DMRTD) project, the company will buy 144 coaches for the mass rapid transit (MRT) line-6.
The 20-kilometre MRT-6 corridor will run 24 sets of trains, having six coaches in each set, between Uttara and Motjheel Shapla Chattar.
The trains known as rolling stock will be kept in the depot at Uttara and the Japanese joint-venture company will provide necessary infrastructure equipment for it.
The company will also be responsible for the maintenance of train sets and equipment for five years after full operation of MRT 6.
The DMRTD project has set the target to launch the first phase of MRT line 6 from Uttara to Agargaon by December 2019 and the rest 10km from Agargaon to Motijheel by 2020.
The prequalification tender for the rolling stock and depot equipment was invited in January 2015 and eight companies were selected from 30 for participating in the tender process in December of the same year.
The DMRTD project office's technical evaluation committee completed evaluation of the offer in mid-December, 2016 and opened financial offer of the companies in January this year.
They received the concurrence on the financial offer of the TEC from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, project's Japanese financier, in the first week of February.
    smunima@yahoo.com