Bangladesh Railway is planning to procure 120 broad gauge passenger carriages at a cost of Tk837.84 crore under an Indian credit agreement that limits bidding for projects financed by it solely to Indian firms, officials said.
A Bangladesh Railway proposal for the purchase of the broad gauge coaches will be placed before the cabinet committee on public purchase tomorrow, officials of the state-owned railway company said yesterday.
According to the proposal signed by Senior Railway Secretary M Mansur Ali Sikder, the Haryana-based Indian firm, RITES Limited, was selected by the tender evaluation committee.
Kapurthala M/S Rail Coach Factory will supply 120 broad gauge passenger carriages, capital and maintenance spares and foreign training for Bangladesh Railway engineers.
The tender evaluation body said prices quoted by RITES Limited were lower than those previously quoted by Indonesia’s PT INKA Limited that had won BR tenders in the past.
The railway division secretary said: “We want to complete the procurement of the 120 broad gauge coaches within the stipulated time as it is related with direct communication with neighbouring India.”
According to an official of the Economic Relations Division, seven out of 15 projects which were undertaken under the $800m Indian line of credit, have been completed during the last three-and-a-half years.
Indian High Commissioner Pankaj Saran handed over a cheque for $25m equivalent to approximately Tk194 crore – the fourth instalment of the $200m grant committed by India in 2012 – to Finance Minister AMA Muhith at his Hare Road residence.
Saran briefed the minister on the latest status of 15 ongoing projects under the remaining $800m Indian line of credit, which are in different stages of execution.
Following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in January 2010, India extended a $1bn line of credit to Bangladesh for a range of projects that included railway infrastructure development, supply of locomotives and passenger coaches, the renovation of Saidpur railway workshop, the procurement of passenger vehicles including articulated buses, and river dredging.
India later wrote off $200m of the $1bn credit as a grant which the Bangladesh government could use for any development project. The Bangladesh government last year decided to use the grant amount towards the construction of the $2.9bn Padma Bridge.
According to the deal for the $800m line of credit, Bangladesh will have to procure 85%-100% of goods and services from the Indian market.
The state-owned rail service provider has undertaken 13 projects under the $800m credit line to upgrade its infrastructure and service facilities.
