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Five firms short-listed for building Padma Bridge Tender likely to be calle

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Five firms short-listed for building Padma Bridge
Tender likely to be called this month



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Five firms short-listed for building Padma Bridge
Final design of 6.5km Padma Bridge
Munima Sultana

Five international companies from China, Korea and India are going to participate in the bidding for the country's longest bridge construction across the river Padma with the tender likely to be called by this month.

World Bank (WB), which is coordinating the multi-financing of the Padma bridge project, has finally short-listed the companies which reportedly are those firms qualified earlier by Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA).

Although officials of both BBA and WB are tight-lipped in declaring the names of the companies before official announcement, it has taken nearly one year to complete the short-listing.

The BBA, the executing agency of the US$ 2.9 billion project, had called the pre-qualification biding on October 11 after rejecting the earlier one called on April 10 last year reportedly on the co-financiers' pressure.

The World Bank demanded the fresh pre-qualification (PQ) bid rejecting the BBA's first choices by citing reasons that the main design of the bridge has been changed after the PQ was called. They also claimed that the fresh bidding would make the companies from developed countries interested.

Officials said in the fresh pre-qualification bidding, no new reputable companies have shown interest in competing for the construction of the 6.15 kilometre steel-truss-composite bridge having road on the top and rail below.

After closing of the PQ bid, GS Engineering and Construction Corporation of Korea and Larsen and Toubro Limited of India were the two new companies showing interest. They were reportedly not short-listed.

The other companies which had participated in the fresh PQ bid were Samsung C and T Corporation, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company and Dailim-Bam-VCI joint venture of Korea, China Major Bridge Engineering Company, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, China Railway Bureau Group Corporation and China Communication Construction Company and Vinci-HCC Joint Venture of India-France.

They said the BBA is now working on opening the tender of the Padma main bridge construction in the current month as declared by the communications minister. However, they said it has yet to receive the tender documents from the World Bank.

The Padma Multi-purpose Bridge is one the present government's priority projects targeted to be completed before the end of its tenure in 2013.
 
who will win in your opinion?

Construction of a long and two tiered bridge, as the Padma Bridge is, requires a high class construction technology, heavy equipments, many thousands of steel and cement materials and knowledge of local condition. As far as I understand, the BBA was expecting a Japanese company to bid for the job. This may be a reason why BBA asked a 2nd bidding for pre-qualification. However, neither a Japanese nor a western country company joined the bidding.

Japanese currency is very strong. This is why a payment received in dollars becomes very small in Japanese Yen. Japanese companies cannot earn profit by doing construction works outside Japan. Japanese bidding price would be much higher than companies from other countries.

However, Japanese are still undertaking technology intensive chemical plants in foreign countries, whereby Korean or Chinese companies cannot compete with them.

Hyundai has already built Jamuna Bridge in Bangladesh. However, this company is not liked by Bangladesh, but for reasons they are not responsible. A cantilever supported rail track was forced by the BD govt at the last moment. Except this rail line, people like the Jamuna Bridge. Other Korean, Chinese or Indian companies do not have any experience in Bangladesh.

I do not think, the lowest bidder will get thje job. many other points will be taken into consideration before selecting a Contractor.
 

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