Irregularities in ferry construction tender of the Roads and Highways Department

Investigative Report:

In order to get the work order to the preferred contractor, the tender of the ferry construction department of the mechanical wings of the Roads and Public Ways Department has been re-tendered without awarding the work to the lowest bidder.

A group has been grabbing most of the tenders in the ferry construction department under monopoly and syndicate for a long time. And for getting this group of work, allegations have been made against a class of corrupt officials of Mechanical Wings.

A review of the work orders of the ferry construction and repair department for the last 5 financial years shows that a company called M/s Comilla Shilpa Builders Ltd. is monopolizing and winning tenders.

On October 2024, an online tender was invited for the re-construction of 7 ferry bridges in different parts of the country under the Dhaka Rehabilitation Project of the Ferry Construction Department under the mechanical zone of the Roads and Highways Department. It's ID no. 1024151/1024152/1024153/1024154/1024155/1024156 and 1024157.

Various contracting companies participated in the said tender. Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation is an organization participating in the said tender. This institution is an autonomous institution of Govt.

Despite being the lowest bidder, without giving the work order to the said company, the second highest bidder, M/s Comilla Sheep Yard Ltd., was awarded the work order by the company inviting the tender, Ferry Construction and Repair Department.

Against this decision, Bangladesh Fishery Development Corporation filed a complaint with the Chief Engineer of the Roads and Public Roads Department and the Ministry and the Advisor's Office. Fisherish Development Corporation, being the lowest bidder, did not receive the work order alleging lack of necessary documents and declared them non-responsive.

A copy of the complaint has been received by The Investor in this regard. On perusal of the said complaint, it has been found that not only Fisherish Development Corporation but also several other tender IDs, despite M/s Rocky Dockyard being the lowest bidder and all their documents being in order, without issuing the work order to the lowest bidder, re-invited the tender in the guise of the Chief Engineer in the ex officio capacity of the PPR.

This claim has been made by the responsible officials of the ferry construction department.
However, M/s Comilla Shipyard Ltd has upheld their tender by issuing work orders to the second highest bidder.

Naturally, the question arises that if this tender has to be canceled or re-tendered, then all the tenders called for ID should be done simultaneously.

The Investigative team of 'The Investor' newspaper began a search to uncover the true story. During the investigation, TI team spoke to the supervising engineer, executive engineer and other officials of the concerned tender inviting organization. Each claimed to have called for re-judgment tenders on the verbal instructions of the Chief Engineer.

Talking with several contractors who participated in the tender, said that the re-tender was called to get the work done by the syndicate contractors.

A representative of the lowest bidder company told the investigative reporter that the documents of the lowest bidder of the tender are claimed to be deficient. If the second highest bidder of the tender of the said ID is awarded the work order, then even if all the documents of the contractor are in order, the lowest bidder company will not get any work order?

The contractors claimed that the chief engineer's office had given orders to call for re-tenders to get the work done by the contractors who were loyal to the outgoing fascist government. And the corrupt official supervising engineer Shamimul Haque has been in charge of this work.

Various complaints including secret tenders, work sharing through syndicates, embezzlement of money through fake bills have been found in relation to various departments of the mechanical wings of the Roads and Public Roads Department, which called for tenders. Executive Engineers of different divisions have different affinity with certain contractors of Mechanical Wings.

Already, there are complaints that the concerned syndicate and executive engineers have given an opportunity to embezzle crores of rupees by showing lower than the actual value of the old parts of the government through fake tenders.

In this regard, on the instructions of the former secretary of the ministry, the current chief engineer (during Hajj) was instructed to stop the operation of a tender, but after the change of pot on August 5, the goods worth crores of rupees were secretly delivered to the specified contractor.

After this incident there was a lot of commotion throughout the Roads Department, but the name of the Chief Engineer was leaked and it was publicized that the goods for the tender were supplied under the direction of the Chief Engineer.


In the same process, there have been serious complaints about tenders in the Ferry Construction and Repair Department, leaving the current Chief Engineer in the dark.

Shamimul Haque, the superintending engineer of the said department, has been accused of serious corruption and irregularities even during his stay in the collection department.

The same person is again charged with the same charges in the Ferry Construction and Repair Department. It has also been alleged that the lowest bidders have been offered and offered to work by way of compromise with their particular contractor.