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Uttara Apartment Project

Rajuk to scrap deal with failed firm

Tawfique Ali
Rajuk is set to cancel this week a contract with a company of a former Awami League lawmaker, as the firm has failed to complete its share of work in the Uttara apartment project.
In February, 2012, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and the Public Works Department (PWD) signed three deals with three consortiums for constructing 79
buildings, each having 16 storeys and 64 apartments.
Of them, the consortium of AL lawmaker M Enamul Haque's Ena Properties and Korean firm DongAH, and Ena-DDJ was supposed to complete 68 percent work of 61 buildings in the last 21 months.
But records show they could not complete even 2 percent of the job.
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During a spot visit on November 27, The Daily Star found the project site almost deserted with heavy equipment like cranes and concrete mixture lying idle and most of the workers' shed empty. Those who were there, including a handful of security personnel, were passing relaxed time.
One of the workers said the construction work there had remained abandoned for quite some time. Workers had left the site after a short stay, as they were not being paid regularly.
Contacted, Rajuk Chairman Nurul Huda yesterday said they had already served the final notice for contract cancellation on Ena-Donga and Ena-DDJ and would issue the cancellation letter this week simultaneously with PWD.
The Rajuk authorities approved the draft letter for the contract cancellation on November 3.
"A fresh tender for the job will be floated the day the letter is served, but it would involve a 15 percent rise in the total cost," he said, adding
that they expected to complete the work in the next two years.
Rajuk officials said the individuals aspiring for flats at the housing scheme would have to bear the additional cost.
Meanwhile, another consortium of Hamid Real Estate, owned by former AL lawmaker Nasrul Hamid Bipu, and Building for Future Ltd, that was given the job of constructing 16 similar buildings, has so far completed 16 percent of the work.
It had also been issued a notice by Rajuk to expedite the work, said Nurul Huda earlier.
However, once cancelled, the Ena-Donga and Ena-DDJ consortium's bank guarantee deposit of around Tk 220 crore would be confiscated and the companies would be blacklisted for further Rajuk works.
According to documents, Rajuk has so far paid Ena-Donga and Ena-DDJ around Tk 70 crore of theTk 2,200-crore work in bills.
The Rajuk chairman said the bills had been
paid in accordance with the work progress of work as per the rules.
Officials of Rajuk said lawmakers Enamul and Bipu were members of the parliamentary standing committee on public works ministry at the time of obtaining the high-profile business contract with the government.
Though incompetent, the lawmakers' firms were appointed in the face of hectic lobbying by a powerful quarter, the officials said.
As to why Rajuk hired sitting lawmakers overlapping the law, Nurul Huda said the contractors in the bid documents had declared themselves as businessmen, not lawmakers.
Contacted, M Enamul Haque claimed that the law did not bar him from doing business with the government, as he had done it as a businessman.
On his failure to deliver, he blamed Rajuk's delay in handing over the project land, its internal roads, and removing overhead electric lines.
In response, the Rajuk chairman said Enamul's allegations were not true.
The other lawmaker, Bipu, could not be reached for his comments.
Meanwhile, noted Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik said as per the Representation of People Order, a sitting lawmaker cannot do business with the government.
"The lawmakers mentioned should have been stripped of their parliamentary status for flouting relevant law," he said, adding that the Speaker should have interacted with the Election Commission for actions.
As per the contract terms, a total of 79 apartment buildings, two of which are to be built by another local firm, will be constructed in Block-A of the three proposed blocks on an area of 215 acres under the Tk 3,000 crore project.
Rajuk had fixed the rate of per square-feet of the flats at Tk 3,500 and taken Tk 3 lakh as deposit from each of 6,500 applicants.