Roads & Highways to sign first major contract since virus outbreak

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Roads and Highways Department's ongoing projects had slowed down. Today, the department will sign its first major contract since the virus hit Bangladesh.

Under the deal, three companies will build 21 bridges in different parts of the country, said RHD officials. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader is expected to join the contract signing ceremony, which would be held at RHD's Banani office, through Zoom, they added.

"We were supposed to sign the deal in April but it got delayed due to the pandemic. This is the first major contract RHD is going to sign since the outbreak began. Some small contracts might have been signed in the meantime," Abdus Sabur, additional chief engineer of RHD, said.

Abdus Sabur is also the project director of Western Bangladesh Bridges Improvement Project (WBBIP), under which all the bridges will be constructed.

"We have resumed works of the project after more than two months of halt due to pandemic and works is now going on in full swing," he told The Daily Star yesterday.

RHD Chief Engineer Quazi Shahriar Hossain recently said the implementation of their projects was hampered by the pandemic as work of those projects was suspended for more than two months since late March.

"We have resumed work but still cannot work in full swing as many foreign experts are yet to return," he told The Daily Star on July 13.

Replying to another question, Shahriar said, "The pandemic will affect every project, and we have to extend the deadline by at least three months. We have already got such indications from the project officials."

The government declared shutdown of all public and private offices and suspended operation of most of the public transport from March 26 to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country. Most RHD projects remained suspended for over two months.

RHD resumed the work in May and is trying to accelerate the process since the government lifted the shutdown and suspension from May 31. RHD is now implementing some 180 development projects.

THE DEAL

Under the deal, a joint venture firm of Chinese company CR24B and Bangladeshi company Spectra Ltd will build 13 bridges within two years at the cost Tk 427.66 core.

On the other hand, Concord-Pragatee Construction Ltd will build eight bridges within two years at the cost of Tk 222 crore, the project documents show.

The government in October 2015 took the WBBIP to build 61 bridges in 26 western districts aiming for safe, reliable and efficient transportation for people and goods.

Funded by JICA, the project was scheduled to be completed under five packages between October 2015 and June 2020 at the cost of Tk 2,911.75 crore.

But last year, 21 more bridges were added in the project, resulting in an increase of duration till June 2022, a project official said. However, the project cost remains same as the construction of one major bridge in Narsingdi was halted, and its budget was repurposed for 21 smaller bridges.

"Now, the 21 bridges would be built under package-6," he said under anonymity.

Of the total 82 bridges, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated 25 in Khulna, Barishal and Gopalganj zones on March 12, which were under package 3, 4 and 5, he said. Work of package 1 and 2 is now undergoing, he added.