Proposal awaits govt nod today
The government is going to drop the links of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE) at Mohakhali, Farmgate, Golapbagh and Maniknagar areas due to complications in acquiring land.
The communications ministry will place today the proposal at a meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs for approval, said ministry sources.As per the revised final route of the expressway, it will now commence at Shahjalal International Airport and pass by Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, Kamalapur, Sayedabad and Jatrabari.
The DEE will take traffic over the Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover and end at Kutubkhali near the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
According to another proposal, the government will appoint a Thai-led joint venture company as the independent engineer for the Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE) project at a slightly higher cost compared to an earlier estimate due to delay in acquiring land.
Thai firm MM Company Ltd, UK’s Mott MacDonald Ltd and Euroconsult Mott MacDonald of the Netherlands will jointly work as the independent engineer of the project.
The joint venture will receive around Tk 53 crore for the job, 6.54 percent up from the previous estimate.
Bangladesh Bridges Authority in January 2011 had entered into a concession agreement with the private investor Ital-Thai Development Public Company Ltd to build the 21 km DEE under public-private partnership.
The scheme was delayed due to repeated modification in its route.
The delay has raised the total project cost from Tk 8,703 crore to Tk 8,940 crore. Of the amount, the government will provide Tk 2,414 crore, while the rest will be funded by the concessionaire.
In another meeting today, the cabinet committee on purchase will endorse proposals for appointment of contractors for two components of the Padma bridge project. Abdul Monem Ltd is going to be appointed as the contractor for the service area at a cost of around Tk 209 crore.
The communications ministry has recommended appointment of a Bangladesh-Malaysia joint venture (Abdul Monem Limited and HCM Engineering Sdn Bhd) for construction of 11 km Mawa approach road at a cost of around Tk 1,934 crore.
-With The Daily Star input
