Staff Reporter :
The government has taken initiative to build 440 flats at a cost of Tk 78.96 for the Dhaka City cleaners. The amount is more than the estimated cost by 14.98 percent.
The cabinet committee on public purchase in a meeting held recently approved a proposal put forward by the LGRD Ministry. Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided at the meeting. Each flat will measure 427 sq feet.
According to the tender document prepared three years ago and early this year, the estimated cost was Tk68.67 crore. But Navana Construction Ltd, the lowest bidder, had quoted Tk78.96 crore. Primarily, 11 firms took part in the bidding. Of them, four were selected.
The tender invited earlier was cancelled as the government had found that none of the bidders qualified for the work.
LGRD Secretary Manjur Hossain, who signed the proposal, told the media that the
cabinet committee had approved the proposal for constructing five 10-storey buildings for the cleaners. The project is expected to be completed by 2017.
The price quoted by Navana was higher than the estimated cost, but it was 5.6% lower than the current market price, he said, adding that considering the level of inflation over last three years, the rise in the project cost was justified.
The new flats have been planned for those who work under the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Currently, there are two “sweeper colonies” in the capital – one at Kamalapur and another at Dayaganj, accommodating most of the 8,000 sweepers who work under the DSCC.
In 2007, a six-storey building collapsed at Dayaganj soon after it was erected. There were allegations that the erstwhile Dhaka City Corporation authority resorted to huge corruption and used poor quality of building materials.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating an allegation of using “poor quality raw materials” for building the colony that resulted in a Tk58 lakh loss to the public exchequer.
The government has taken initiative to build 440 flats at a cost of Tk 78.96 for the Dhaka City cleaners. The amount is more than the estimated cost by 14.98 percent.
The cabinet committee on public purchase in a meeting held recently approved a proposal put forward by the LGRD Ministry. Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided at the meeting. Each flat will measure 427 sq feet.
According to the tender document prepared three years ago and early this year, the estimated cost was Tk68.67 crore. But Navana Construction Ltd, the lowest bidder, had quoted Tk78.96 crore. Primarily, 11 firms took part in the bidding. Of them, four were selected.
The tender invited earlier was cancelled as the government had found that none of the bidders qualified for the work.
LGRD Secretary Manjur Hossain, who signed the proposal, told the media that the
cabinet committee had approved the proposal for constructing five 10-storey buildings for the cleaners. The project is expected to be completed by 2017.
The price quoted by Navana was higher than the estimated cost, but it was 5.6% lower than the current market price, he said, adding that considering the level of inflation over last three years, the rise in the project cost was justified.
The new flats have been planned for those who work under the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Currently, there are two “sweeper colonies” in the capital – one at Kamalapur and another at Dayaganj, accommodating most of the 8,000 sweepers who work under the DSCC.
In 2007, a six-storey building collapsed at Dayaganj soon after it was erected. There were allegations that the erstwhile Dhaka City Corporation authority resorted to huge corruption and used poor quality of building materials.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating an allegation of using “poor quality raw materials” for building the colony that resulted in a Tk58 lakh loss to the public exchequer.
