Deal signed for consultancy

The government yesterday signed a Tk 231.37 crore deal with a consortium of five companies for the consultancy services of the 72-km Akhaura-Laksam double rail line project.

The five companies are Dohwa Engineering Co Ltd (Korea), Korea Rail Network Authority, Oriental Consultants Global Ltd (Japan), Balaji Railroad Systems Ltd (India) and Development Design Consultants Ltd (Bangladesh).

Bangladesh Railway's general manager Sagar Krishna Chakrawarty and vice-president of Dohwa Engineering Son Hee Jong signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides.

Railways Minister Mazibul Hoque, Korean Ambassador Ahn Seong-doo, Railways Secretary Md Feroz Salah Uddin and Director General of Bangladesh Railway Md Amzad Hossain were present at the deal signing ceremony.

As per the agreement, everything of the project -- from design to completion of the construction process -- will be supervised by the consortium, said the Railways Minister.

Of the Tk 231.37 crore, the government will provide Tk 59 crore and the rest will be taken from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as loan.

The contract period for the project is 60 months.

The total cost of the project is Tk 650.45 crore with the government funding Tk 102.66 crore and the rest by the ADB and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Once the double line project is implemented, the passenger and freight transportation services on the Dhaka-Chittagong route will be easier.