The cabinet committee on government purchase has approved procurement proposals worth about Tk 46,000 crore for building infrastructure on Lines 1 and 5 of the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project.
Eight related proposals were approved at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury at the Secretariat on Thursday. They include civil works procurement for four packages on Line 1 and one on Line 5, while procurement for two more Line 1 packages and one package on the Line 5 northern route was recommended for approval.
A Tk 11,590 crore underground section
Under Line 1’s CP-06 package, a 5.182-kilometre underground section will be built from the north end of Badda station to the airport station, with two 4.15-kilometre tunnels and three underground stations: Airport, Airport Terminal-3 and Khilkhet. Shafts will also be built to launch tunnel boring machines. The work will cost Tk 11,590.58 crore including VAT and taxes. Of seven prequalified firms, two submitted bids, both technically acceptable, and a joint venture of Japan’s Nishimatsu, TPL and Toda was recommended as the lowest bidder. But the recommended price, excluding VAT and taxes, is 32.05 percent above the official estimate.
Power and signalling also above estimate
Line 1’s CP-09 package covers track and electrical works, including rails, turnouts, points and crossings, 132kV primary feeders, receiving and auxiliary substations, a 33/0.415kV power distribution network and a 1,500-volt overhead power system, at a cost of Tk 11,065.58 crore. Of two prequalified firms, one bid, and a joint venture of India’s L&T and Sumitomo was recommended, at 49.92 percent above the official estimate.
The CP-10 package covers signalling and telecommunications, platform screen doors and an asset management system, including communications-based train control, an optical fibre network and LTE radio communications, at a cost of Tk 6,446.65 crore. India’s Larsen & Toubro was recommended as the lowest bidder, at 50.89 percent above the official estimate.
Depot and viaduct
Line 1’s CP-02 package covers the depot workshop, stabling sheds, operations and technical management centres, substations and track, at Tk 4,285 crore including VAT and taxes, with a Sinohydro and SEBCL joint venture proposed for the work.
Line 5’s CP-03 package covers a 6.50-kilometre viaduct, 5.6 km from Hemayetpur to Aminbazar and 0.9 km from beyond Notun Bazar to Bhatara, with five elevated stations at Hemayetpur, Boliarpur, Bilamalia, Aminbazar and Bhatara. It will cost Tk 2,671 crore, and a joint venture of China’s CREC, MIL and MBEL was recommended as the lowest bidder, at 0.69 percent above the official estimate.
Three more packages
Line 1’s CP-04 package covers the main line and stations from the north end of Rampura station to Notun Bazar, with a base contract value of Tk 18,037.26 crore; Japan’s Tokyu-MIL joint venture has been recommended. The CP-07 package covers 5.007 kilometres of main line and stations from the transition to the start of the Balu river, worth Tk 2,534 crore, which may go to a CREC-MIL-MBEC joint venture. The CP-02 package on the Line 5 northern route covers depot civil works and buildings worth Tk 1,848 crore, with a Concord Pragati Consortium and Hanil Engineering and Construction joint venture recommended.
Project officials said ECNEC approved the first revisions of both projects on September 16. They run from September 1, 2019 to December 31, 2033, are implemented by Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), and are jointly financed by the Bangladesh government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Metro Line 5 will run from Gabtoli through Technical More, Kalyanpur, Shyamoli, College Gate, Asad Gate, Sukrabad, Karwan Bazar, Hatirjheel, Tejgaon, Aftabnagar, Aftabnagar Centre, Aftabnagar East and Nasirabad to Dasherkandi. Line 1 is being built on two routes, from the airport to Kamalapur and from Notun Bazar to Purbachal.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report