Deal signed for Padma bridge construction with China

The Government of Bangladesh yesterday signed a deal with the China Major Bridge Engineering Company Limited (CMBECL) for the construction of main portion of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge (PMB).PMB’s Project Director Shafiqul Islam and Co-Chairman of CMBECL Liu Ziming signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides at a ceremony held at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla in the city on Tuesday evening.  Communication Minister Obaidul Kader and high government officials were present at the signing ceremony. Under the deal, the Chinese state-run construction firm will build the main bridge within four years for a budget of Tk 12,133 crore.According to the agreement, the government will pay the first installment of Tk 1,820 crore by this month. Besides, the Chinese company will deposit Tk 1,213 crore to the government exchequer as performance guarantee.Earlier on May 22, the government awarded the PMB construction work to the lone bidder CMBECL at a cabinet committee meeting on purchase.The CMBEC has got the Tk 12,133-crore job at 12.62 per cent lower than the cost estimated by design consultant firm Maunsell AECOM.Earlier on April 25, only one Chinese firm submitted a financial bid for construction of the main bridge by the deadline.Two other companies, Samsung C&T Corp and Daelim-L&T JV, — appealed to extend the deadline by another 10 to 11 weeks, but the government did not accept it.On May 11, 2010, the government floated the first tender for appointing the constructor of the Padma Bridge. At that time, the project cost was Tk 9,127.17 crore.However, the tender process was suspended in August 2011 following allegations of corruption conspiracies raised by World Bank.