The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) is considering appointing international firms or joint ventures between local and foreign firms to conduct fitness tests of vehicles in the country, sources said.
As part of the process of outsourcing the fitness inspection work, the BRTA is likely to opt for joint venture firms during the selection process, as experience in such work would be considered as a key criterion, they said.
More than 10 firms would be required to inspect fitness of vehicles in the country, he added.
The BRTA that carries out all kinds of registration and fitness tests of motorised vehicles in the country has recently decided to outsource vehicle fitness due to its inability to provide quality service.
It issues fitness certificates mostly without inspection of any vehicles, resulting in hundreds of unfit vehicles plying the city streets with genuine certificates.
Although the BRTA had developed vehicle inspection centres (VICs) at Mirpur, Ekuria in Dhaka and in Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi with foreign funds in the 1990s, it could not make them operational.
The vehicle owners also face unbearable hassle in getting the fitness certificates due to corruption and influence of middlemen.
On Thursday last, BRTA held a meeting with the stakeholders to set the criteria of selection of the private firms and they agreed on the appointment of international firms, the sources said.
The meeting also stressed the need to set up VICs in different parts of the country to streamline the system.
Each VIC must have the capacity to conduct fitness tests of at least 100 vehicles per day, the meeting pointed out.
Sources said the meeting proposed assessing the competency of the firms by taking into account their experiences in supplying and installation of equipment and in making the system operational.
To get selected for the job, the firms must have necessary lands and skilled manpower with the ability to integrate IT software of VIC with the BRTA's existing software as well as financial ability, the meeting decided.
The criteria recommended during the first meeting held on August 29 were more or less accepted by the stakeholders, said an official.
However, the BRTA will work more on the criteria to ensure consistency with its law and other international practices, officials said.
The decision on one criterion for the selection of firms is yet to be taken and that is the number of vehicles the firm can accommodate in its parking facilities.
Whether the number of vehicles would be 50 or 100 is yet to be decided, said an official confirming that the BRTA would not allow its land for the private parties to carry out the fitness tests.
The BRTA will also conduct such tests in some districts alongside private operators.
smunima@yahoo.com