The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has incurred a loss of Tk 1.78 billion in capital dredging and bank protection of Karnaphuli River project, officials said.
Contractor of the project -- Malaysian Maritime and Dredging Corporation (MMDC) -- has suspended the project work for more than a year, leading to gradual siltation on the river-bed, they added.
Officials said MMDC filed a writ petition with the High Court (HC) after CPA cancelled the deal with the company due to its repeated failure to complete the work despite several extension of timeframe to do so.
HC issued an injunction order on encashment of bank guarantee, provided by MMDC as performance security. Later, following CPA's appeal the chamber judge imposed a stay order on HC's injunction, but asked the Malaysian company to raise the tenure of bank guarantee by one year.
Deputy chief of planning cell under ministry of shipping (MoS) Sajjadul Islam told the FE on Tuesday that the work remains suspended, since the contractor-filed arbitration awaits decision.
He said no new project can be taken to complete the remaining work of the project until the final verdict is given.
According to a CPA investigation, the port incurred Tk 1.07 billion loss against dredging, Tk 70 million against income from jetty, Tk 507 million against bank protection work, and Tk 130 million against administrative and advisory services.
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan at a recent meeting asked the port authority to take legal actions against the Malaysian contractor to realise the amount CPA incurred as loss in the project.
A senior MoS official said the river-bed has returned to the state before dredging since the work has been suspended for more than a year.
"The money already given to the contractor is wasted. It is totally an unsuccessful project. Another Tk 2.0 billion may be needed to complete the project," he opined.
The project started in May 2011 and was supposed to be completed by January 2013. But, according to CPA assessment, until June 2014, only 80 per cent of physical progress has been made, which is "far behind the scheduled progress".
"This is a matter of worry that in the last twelve months only 4.0 per cent physical progress has been achieved, which is not acceptable at all. Moreover, from 18 May 2014 no activities on the site are going on," CPA in a letter to MMDC cited as the grounds for scrapping the deal with it.
The project was taken at a cost of Tk 2.295 billion to remove 3.6 million cubic feet of mud and waste from the Karnaphuli river-bed, and to construct 400 meters jetty in Sadarghat area and 2.61 kilometres embankment on the river-banks.
Until June 2014, CPA paid some Tk 1.659 billion to the contractor against its completed works, said officials.
CPA chairman Nizamuddin Ahmed could not be reached for his comments on the issue despite several attempts.
syful-islam@outlook.com
CPA incurs Tk 1.78b loss in Karnaphuli dredging
Syful Islam | Published: March 28, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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