Contract with contractor one year after proposal.
Bangladesh Railways had to wait a year for the finalization of the tender process for a work. That is the Dhaka-Narayanganj railway line. When the contractor fled in 2023, a proposal was made to appoint a new contractor a year ago. Approval was given to appoint a contractor this month. Now waiting for the contract. Similarly, the flood-affected Sylhet to Chhatak Bazar section construction work is in the same situation. In this way, the project work is delayed due to time delays. The government has to pay extra money in the name of variations and amendments; passengers also suffer.
A large number of people from Narayanganj come to Dhaka by train every day. 16 pairs of trains travel on this route daily. Since the busy route is single-line, Bangladesh Railways took the project to double-line it. But after starting the project work, the Chinese contractor company fled at one stage. After this, the tender process started again in 2023.
The incident began after Power Construction Corporation of China Limited gave a contract termination notice on March 15, 2023. The contractor started work on October 9, 2017. At the beginning of the work, the contract period was extended six times due to 13 writ cases regarding railway land, eviction of illegal structures, and the spread of Covid, etc. Even after this, when the contractor finally left the work, a new package was announced with the remaining work. The lowest bidder for the package named W3, jointly with GPT-Standard, has approved a purchase proposal of Tk 299.95 crore and a provisional sum of Tk 166.9 crore, totaling Tk 316.4 crore, this month.
Meanwhile, another proposal sent on June 20 last year was approved this month. The Procurement Advisory Committee has approved the purchase proposal for the completion of the WD-1 package of the Sylhet to Chhatak Bazar Section (Meter Gauge Track) Rehabilitation Project of Bangladesh Railway, which was severely affected by the floods. The evaluation committee formed to evaluate and recommend the tender held three meetings in March, April and May last year. After that, it was finalized. The project was approved on April 11, 2023. The total cost of the project is Tk 241 crore. Out of this, project assistance is Tk 184 crore. Its implementation period is set to June 30, 2026. There is a resource of Tk 214 crore for the WD-1 package. Mir Akhtar Hossain Limited has been recommended as the lowest bidder for Tk 199 crore 93 lakh 88 thousand 545. When tenders were invited for the procurement of the project’s construction work, 4 tenders were submitted. All 4 tenders were considered technically responsive. After the completion of all the tender processes, Mir Akhtar Hossain Limited, the lowest responsive bidder recommended by TEC, will implement the project. The embankment and railway track of the 34-kilometer railway line from Sylhet to Chhatak Bazar, which was affected by the 2022 floods, were extensively damaged. As a result, rail traffic is closed. The project was undertaken to rehabilitate the railway line and make it suitable for train traffic.
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