Work order approved: CMBEC likely to start building Padma Bridge in Nov

The Communications Ministry on Monday afternoon approved work order for China Major Bridge Engineering Company (CMBEC) Ltd to construct a bridge over Padma River. The CMBEC got the $1.55 billion job last month at 12.62 per cent lower than the cost estimated by design consultant firm Maunsell AECOM. On May 22, the Padma Bridge project finally saw a breakthrough after a 3-year delay over allegations of a corruption conspiracy, with the cabinet purchase committee awarding the contract for the construction of the bridge to CMBEC. The government formed the committee to evaluate tenders had recommended that the contract be handed to the lone bidder, CMBEC, giving a clean chit to the bidding process for the country’s largest-ever infrastructure project. The CMBEC got the $1.55b job against a revised estimated cost of $1.77b. The Bridges Division revised the estimated cost upwards due to the 3-year delay caused by the World Bank (WB)’s cancellation of financing for the project. After the cabinet purchase committee awarded the contract to the lone bidder on May 22, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the physical work of around 6.15-kilometre-long main part of the Padma bridge is finally set to start by November this year and end by 2018. Earlier, Maunsell AECOM had recommended the CMBEC’s offer saying that it was minimum and competitive. The offer was also closer to the estimate made by four donors including the WB. An evaluation committee headed by Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury and Maunsell AECOM separately evaluated the tender proposal, according to a news agency.