A Correspondent :
The fate of the project titled ‘Capital dredging and bank protection with jetty facilities of the Karnaphuli River from Sadarghat jetty to third Karnaphuli Bridge’ is likely to be decided on April 9. An arbitration board has been constituted with former Chief Justice M Ruhul Amin as Chairman while Justice Amirul Islam and Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman as arbitrators on behalf of the contractor and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) respectively on November, 2014.
The Arbitration Board will take the final decision on the fate of the project and its first meeting will be held on April 9, sources said. Mentionable, Malaysia Maritime and Dredging Corporation was appointed for the project on April 28, 2011 while the works were formally inaugurated on June 5, 2011.
As per the contract, the appointed organisation would have to complete the project within 18 months after their appointment. So, the project was scheduled to be completed by December 2012. But strangely, the contractor had left the country suspending the works at half-done.
Then the Ministry of Shipping had constituted a four member investigation committee to probe into the matter. The investigation committee carried out a survey with an expert team of CUET in 2013.
The expert team divulged a horrifying situation of the project that had completed the works only 79 per cent during the last two and a half years. The investigation team also found the contractor company had dropped the dredged earth on the bank of the Karnaphuli River that had again moved to the river refilling the dredged site. But the contractor had withdrawn the money at the rate of 72.30 per cent of the total cost. With the withdrawal of excess fund the appointed contractor has suspended the dredging works since two years back.
Then the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has cancelled the agreement with the Malaysian organisation.
But, after the cancellation, Malaysia Maritime and Dredging Corporation filed a case with the High Court against the decision of the CPA. The High Court issued injunction order on termination of the agreement on July 24, 2014.
The Court also stayed the injunction order for a civil petition for leave to appeal filed by the CPA. AS a result, the period of bank guarantee has been extended to July 21, 2015.
Meanwhile, the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) has agreed to conduct dredging of the river Karnaphuli free of cost if the Chittagong Port approves.
The Mayor of CCC M Manjurul Alam observed that siltation of the channel of the river Karnaphuli from Shah Amanat Bridge to the downstream to CPA jetties was the only cause of water-logging of the port city. So, proper dredging of the river channel would help reducing water-logging in the city, he opined.
For this reason, the CCC has agreed to conduct the dredging of the river.
M Manjurul Alam said in this regard, “…if the CPA management agree to award CCC the dredging works, City Corporation is ready to conduct the works.”
The fate of the project titled ‘Capital dredging and bank protection with jetty facilities of the Karnaphuli River from Sadarghat jetty to third Karnaphuli Bridge’ is likely to be decided on April 9. An arbitration board has been constituted with former Chief Justice M Ruhul Amin as Chairman while Justice Amirul Islam and Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman as arbitrators on behalf of the contractor and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) respectively on November, 2014.
The Arbitration Board will take the final decision on the fate of the project and its first meeting will be held on April 9, sources said. Mentionable, Malaysia Maritime and Dredging Corporation was appointed for the project on April 28, 2011 while the works were formally inaugurated on June 5, 2011.
As per the contract, the appointed organisation would have to complete the project within 18 months after their appointment. So, the project was scheduled to be completed by December 2012. But strangely, the contractor had left the country suspending the works at half-done.
Then the Ministry of Shipping had constituted a four member investigation committee to probe into the matter. The investigation committee carried out a survey with an expert team of CUET in 2013.
The expert team divulged a horrifying situation of the project that had completed the works only 79 per cent during the last two and a half years. The investigation team also found the contractor company had dropped the dredged earth on the bank of the Karnaphuli River that had again moved to the river refilling the dredged site. But the contractor had withdrawn the money at the rate of 72.30 per cent of the total cost. With the withdrawal of excess fund the appointed contractor has suspended the dredging works since two years back.
Then the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has cancelled the agreement with the Malaysian organisation.
But, after the cancellation, Malaysia Maritime and Dredging Corporation filed a case with the High Court against the decision of the CPA. The High Court issued injunction order on termination of the agreement on July 24, 2014.
The Court also stayed the injunction order for a civil petition for leave to appeal filed by the CPA. AS a result, the period of bank guarantee has been extended to July 21, 2015.
Meanwhile, the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) has agreed to conduct dredging of the river Karnaphuli free of cost if the Chittagong Port approves.
The Mayor of CCC M Manjurul Alam observed that siltation of the channel of the river Karnaphuli from Shah Amanat Bridge to the downstream to CPA jetties was the only cause of water-logging of the port city. So, proper dredging of the river channel would help reducing water-logging in the city, he opined.
For this reason, the CCC has agreed to conduct the dredging of the river.
M Manjurul Alam said in this regard, “…if the CPA management agree to award CCC the dredging works, City Corporation is ready to conduct the works.”
