The Dispute Adjudication Board (DAB) gave a verdict favouring the firms under the consortium that initially filed a claim for Tk 5.21 billion from the RHD as reward and compensation for constructing 2nd Kanchpur, 2nd Meghna and 2nd Gumti (KMG) bridges before their completion schedule.
Of the claimed amount, the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges paid Tk 1.42 billion at the initial stage.
The project officials said the Japanese firms afterwards revised their claim several times during the last one year, cutting the demand to nearly Tk 1.0 billion for reaching an amicable solution.
The RHD, however, refused to pay the revised amount, and decided to go to the international court in March last year.
"Those revisions were not also settled, and not even the file was moved," said a competent source, adding that the firms were also interested to go to the international court.
Sources said the project was going to be concluded shortly, and blamed the coronavirus pandemic situation for the delay in settling the case.
Recently, the RHD estimated a budget of Tk 360 million and shared the information with the Chief Engineer Office to fight the case in the international court in Singapore.
Project Director Abu Saleh Mohammed Nuruzzaman refused to comment on the case, as it is under the judicial process. But he said the budget was estimated based on the expenditure, needed for pressing ahead with the case in the court.
He also said the budget also included the amount, needed to be paid to the Japanese firms, if the case goes in favour of them, as the winning party gets all its expenditure from the losing party.
The RHD has so far dealt with various petty disputes with its local contractors through lawyers. But it has no record of settling cases with the international contractors after passing more than a decade.
A case of a Korean firm, assigned to construct the Dhaka-Khulna Highway, has been remaining pending since 2005; and another case of a Chinese firm, dealing with the 3rd Karnaphuli Bridge, since 2010.
Sources said the Chinese firm demanded Tk 600 million, but the RHD agreed to pay Tk 130 million, which is yet to be handed over to the firm.
While talking with the officials of various sections and units of the RHD, including its chief engineer, the FE found that there was no dedicated section or unit in the agency to work on this kind of cases with the international firms.
None wants to handle these issues through proper procedure after those arise in favour of or against the RHD.
"We do not have the arbitration culture in settling claims of contractors. None encourages arbitration," said an official, preferring not to be named.
"But the case of the Japanese firms is different, as they demanded reward for completing the work before the schedule despite the Holey Artisan terrorist attack incident in 2016," he added.
The Japanese consortium of Obayashi Corporation, Shimizu Corporation, JFE Engineering Corporation and IHI Infrastructure Systems Co Ltd demanded Tk 5.21 billion, including Tk 2.0 billion as time recovery cost, to change the work plan after the incident.
It also completed the Tk 84.86-billion 2nd Kanchpur, 2nd Meghna and 2nd Gumti bridge construction and rehabilitation work of the existing bridges project, saving Tk 15 billion from its contract price of Tk 59.66 billion.
smunima@yahoo.com