No substandard material is being used in the construction of the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air-Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman has said.
He made the remark in response to queries from the Parliamentary standing committee on Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry.
“We are allowing concerned officials to use the materials after checking them properly,” he told the meeting on Monday.
The committee had sought a list of the primary construction firm and subordinate local firms. The list will be sent to the prime minister for proper monitoring of the procurement procedures.
According to CAAB, around 10 sub-construction firms are working under Japanese companies Mitsubishi and Fujita, and Korean company Samsung.
The CAAB chief dismissed any claim of substandard materials being used, saying that they have provided directives to ensure that materials that do not meet the European standards according to the project profile, are not used.
Media reports had surfaced claiming a vested quarter was forcing construction companies to use low-grade materials despite the project profile specifying the standard quality and grade of each product.
Officials of the consultant firm, wishing anonymity, alleged that despite rejecting several electrical equipment, a syndicate is desperate to buy products from preferred countries and companies that give them commission.
For example, the cargo terminal is being fitted with Korean Maldani brand low-brightness lamps which, once damaged, would be difficult to repair or replace locally because they are currently out of market.
Media reports suggest that two influential members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry were behind the syndicate along with some unscrupulous officials of the contractors.
RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, MP, who chairs the standing committee and owns SQ Construction Firm, a subcontractor company for the third terminal, told Dhaka Tribune that they have received no such allegations from CAAB.
He added that they have directed CAAB to take strict measures against those who are involved in such irregularities.
He further said that if the construction firm brought any substandard material it will be returned.
During the meeting, he asked the CAAB chief to name those who are pressurizing to use substandard materials.
Another parliamentary standing committee member Sayeda Rubina Akter whose name came up in the irregularities told the correspondent that none of her construction companies are currently working at any airport in the country and her firm is mainly working in the education sector.
However, officials of the consultant firm who requested anonymity said that none of her construction companies work directly.
She personally takes the job from CAAB and gives it to a listed company in return for commission.
Rubina Akter is also a member of the probe panel formed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee to investigate the alleged irregularities.
Lawmaker Anwar Hossain has been made the convener of the panel while Sheikh Tanmoy and Syeda Rubina Akhter are members.
