A team of Bangladeshi experts will visit Malaysia and then fly to China the third week of this month to evaluate projects of two firms, one of which will be selected for repairing cracks on Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge.

A tender evaluation committee recently found the two companies — China Communications Construction Company Limited and MBEL-Shikon JV, a Bangladeshi and Malaysian joint venture — technically responsive.

ACL-RNC-STP JV, a Bangladeshi, Filipino and Indian joint venture, was another bidder not considered for technical loopholes in their submission.

"We will learn about their experience and standard of work before selecting one for the crucial repair works,” said Khan MahmudAmanat, a professor of civil engineer-ing department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

The government's delay in the repair woks increased costs to Tk327 crore from Tk 207 fixed last year.

Numerous cracks were detected on the 4.8-kilometre long bridge over the Jamuna River in 2006, but successive governments failed to appoint a contractor for repair, compromising its lifespan and load carrying capacity.

The country's longest bridge, connecting the northern region with the capital, developed the cracks in just nine years after being opened to public in 1997.

South Korean Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co Ltd built the Tk 4,000 crore bridge, with an expected lifespan of 100 years. Later, experts found faults in Hyundai's design and construction that led to the emergence of the cracks.