Proposal to award Metro Rail Line-5's elevated section to Chinese firm withdrawn

A proposal to award the construction work of the elevated section of the Metro Rail Line-5 (Northern Route) project to a Chinese joint venture has been withdrawn from the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase. The proposal was not presented for approval due to some irregularities and will be resubmitted after corrections.

The matter came up at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury at the Secretariat on Wednesday (July 29). The Roads and Highways Division informed the meeting that the proposal has been withdrawn as it contained some flaws. It will be re-submitted to the committee for approval after necessary revisions.

Under the third construction package of the project, being implemented with joint financing from the Government of Bangladesh and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the plan involves constructing a 6.5-kilometre elevated metro rail line from Hemayetpur to Aminbazar and from New Market to Bhatara, along with five elevated stations.

In the tender evaluation, a joint venture of China Railway Group, Max Infrastructure and China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group was selected as the lowest bidder. Their proposed contract value, including VAT and income tax, was approximately Tk 2,671 crore.

The Metro Rail Line-5 (Northern Route) project was approved in 2019. The project, with an estimated cost of about Tk 41,239 crore, will construct a 20-kilometre rail line, including 13.5 kilometres underground and 6.5 kilometres elevated. The project is expected to be completed by December 2028.