Bangladesh’s authorities has allowed a Chinese language contractor to renew building of an elevated fast bus route after suspending the undertaking within the wake of a girder falling and killing 5 individuals in a automobile final month, officers stated.

Authorities have additionally granted the Gezhouba Group Firm, a road-building agency from mainland China, a one-year extension on the undertaking after it gave the federal government assurances about implementing security measures to forestall different accidents from occurring, officers advised BenarNews. 

“China’s Gezhouba Group Firm has been permitted to renew the development work as they’ve adopted security measures on the undertaking website. We wish them to complete the work as quickly as attainable,” A.B.M Amin Ullah Nuri, the secretary of the Highway Transport and Highways Division, advised BenarNews.

“The undertaking is already not on time; how lengthy will we make individuals endure for the undertaking?” stated the official, who additionally chairs the state company implementing the Dhaka Bus Fast Transit line (DBRT).

The lethal accident on Aug. 15 was the newest mishap to happen throughout building of the 20.2-km (12.5-mile) overhead fast transit bus hall. 5 members of a household, together with two youngsters, have been killed when the falling girder crushed their automobile as they have been driving beneath the development website of the elevated transit line. A newlywed couple, who have been additionally within the automobile, have been severely injured.

A authorities investigation into the incident discovered that the China Gezhouba Group Co., a subsidiary of the China Gezhouba Group Corp. (CGGC), was answerable for the accident by not making certain individuals’s security in or close to the undertaking website. 

The undertaking, valued at 42.6 billion taka (U.S. $450 million), is being financed by the Asian Growth Financial institution (ADB), Nuri stated.

As soon as accomplished, the transit line will join the neighboring Gazipur district with Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal Worldwide Airport, in a undertaking that goals to ease site visitors congestion on a busy freeway connecting the 2 factors. 

“Now we have to work with the ADB to take motion in opposition to the contracting firm. We’re working with them on this regard,” Nuri stated with out elaborating.

In 2016, the Gezhouba Group was awarded the contract for the undertaking. Its unique end-date was June 2020, however the undertaking received delayed a number of occasions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the corporate was then given a brand new deadline for ending the undertaking by June 2021.

“To date, practically 80 % of the undertaking has been completed. We wish the bodily building of the undertaking to complete by March subsequent yr. So, we have now proposed the planning fee to increase the deadline for the corporate to December 2023,” Shafiqul Islam, the managing director of the DBRT firm, advised BenarNews.

When requested whether or not the federal government was contemplating cancelling the contract and discovering a brand new builder for the transit line, he replied: “That is very troublesome to alter the contractor of an ongoing undertaking. We won’t change the contractor CGGC.” 

“There are … provisions for punishment within the contract, however making use of the provisions is lifelike,” Islam added.

The Chinese language embassy in Dhaka didn’t instantly reply to BenarNews requests for remark.

Lawsuit

Ten individuals, all Bangladeshi nationals linked with the Chinese language firm, have been arrested in reference to the Aug. 15 accident however have been freed on bail.

In the meantime, a plaintiff in a lawsuit introduced in opposition to the corporate over the newest incident advised BenarNews that senior officers of CGGC went to his dwelling in Dhaka lately.

“They supplied us Tk two million for every household as compensation in order that we may withdraw the case. However we have now not accepted their proposal,” stated Md. Afran Mondal Babu, who’s suing the corporate for culpable murder not amounting to homicide. 

“The police had not arrested any official of the Chinese language firm. Some native employees of the undertaking have been arrested and all of them have been [released] on bail,” stated Babu.

“Now we have requested for Tk 30 million (U.S. $287,240) for the settlement. They usually rejected our supply,” he stated.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated information service.