Three Chinese firms agree to complete Ctg highway work

All the three Chinese companies, the activities of which had been on hold, have finally agreed to complete the remaining assigned works involving two important highway development projects. It follows the intervention of the Chinese embassy in Dhaka.
Sinohydro Corporation, responsible for 70 per cent work of 193 kilometre (km) Dhaka-Chittagong Four-lane Highway, had kept their work suspended for over a year due mainly to fund crisis, which experts said, resulted from taking the job at a much lower rate than the project's actual rate.
The Major Bridge Engineering Company (MBEC) and the Metallurgical Construction Company of China (MCCC), the two other Chinese companies engaged in the work in Dhaka-Mymensingh Four-lane Highway project, however, remained absent from their respective working sites since the project work had been launched in 2010 leaving the job to joint venture firms Project Builder Ltd, Shamim Enterprise Ltd and Toma Construction.
 "They have promised to start the work. They will take up the assignments," Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jun told the FE when his attention was drawn to the matter of 'disappearance' of the Chinese companies from the country's two vital corridors' construction.
The ambassador admitted that the Chinese companies had been responsible for putting the country's two projects into trouble, but said they would continue the work at their own expenses.
He, however, said as all the three companies were new in Bangladesh, they had suffered for their not knowing much about the working condition in the country.
Sources said Sinohydro Corporation, which had been given the task of Dhaka-Chittagong Four-lane Highway work, has already informed the implementing agency -- Roads and Highways Department (RHD), of its return to work.
A four-member high-level delegation from Sinohydro headquarters has already held meetings with the Communications Ministry officials, as well as the minister, to resolve the issue for which the work on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway remained suspended.
"They have agreed to finish the entire part of their work but they want to resolve some issues for which they face discrimination with the local firms," said project director Ibne Alam Hussain.
He said the issues the Chinese company had raised were being reviewed.
Sources at the Dhaka-Mymensingh Four-lane Highway project office said the engineers of the two Chinese companies had arrived last month. "We are expecting a progress in the two package works of the project in the next two months," said the project director.
The MBEC won the work by forming a joint venture with the Project Builder Ltd, a local company, while MCCC formed a joint venture with Shamim Enterprise Ltd and Toma Construction, to complete the 29.60km road from Mawna to Raimoni and the 27.33km road from Raimoni to Mymensingh in 20 months.
But after 30 months, only 30 per cent work was completed up to August last.
Official record shows that the progress in the highway work eventually slowed down to nearly one to two per cent every month in the absence of the two Chinese lead firms.
The officials concerned said with their return, financial crisis of the contractors and technical issues were likely to be resolved.
Performance of the Chinese firm in the Dhaka-Chittagong Four-lane Highway work is insignificant as four package works, out of seven packages, has been poor. The Sinohydro alleged that political unrest, delay in handing over land and completing utility shifting etc were the causes for their delay in work execution. They demanded compensation for the extension of the project's time and change in the highway construction's design.
The RHD awarded the 193km Dhaka-Chittagong Four-lane Highway project work to three construction firms -- Sinohydro Corporation Ltd of China, Reza Construction Ltd, and Taher Brothers-ACL joint venture of Bangladesh in 2010.
Of the total work, the Chinese firm is assigned the job of widening 140 kilometres of the highway under the packages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9, while the two Bangladeshi firms are responsible for executing the remaining work under the packages 1, 7 and 10.