CHATTOGRAM, Mar 21: A total of eight international tenders including one Bangladeshi have been submitted for the appointment of a consultant for Tk 11,560.77 crore new rail-cum-road bridge project on the River Karnaphuli at Kalurghat. All seven foreign tenders belong to Korea.
Bangladesh Railway sources said, the authorities invited tenders on January 19. The last date of submission of tender was March 3. Later on the date has been extended to March 17.
On the last date, eight tenders have been submitted, railway sources said.
The evaluations of the tenders have begun. The authorities hope that the evaluations will be completed within the next three months.
One of those tenders will be qualified for appointment of a consultant, sources said. After qualifying, the authorities will ask to submit financial and technical offer.
The detailed design of the project is expected to be completed in February in 2026.
The Bangladesh Railway department has already appointed M Abul Kalam Chowdhury as the Project Director on February 9.
The appointment of a consultant is expected to be finalized at the end of the current year, sources said.
The construction works may begin at the beginning of 2027 while it will be completed by December in 2030.
Meanwhile, the government has taken the project beside the existing old bridge to ensure smooth and uninterrupted communication system between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar.
The main project operations include construction of 700 meter rail-cum-road bridge, construction of 6.20 kilometer viaduct, 2.40 kilometer road viaduct, 4.54 kilometer embankments, erection of 11.44 kilometer rail track and ancillary works.
The process for construction of the bridge has been progressed with the signing of a loan agreement with Export-Import Bank of Korea (EXIM) on June 27 last.
The rail-road bridge over the Karnaphuli River will serve as the sole dual-purpose bridge between Chattogram Port and industrial zone upon completion.
This is expected to significantly reduce logistics costs, revitalize trade, and consequently contribute substantially to Bangladesh's economic growth.
With a total project cost of $1.24 billion, the project will receive $0.43 billion in funding from the Bangladeshi government, with the remaining $0.81 billion provided by EDCF and EDPF of South Korea. Notably, this project marks the largest-ever (EDCF) supported endeavour and the first instance of combined financing from Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDPF) in Bangladesh.
Earlier EDCF of Korea had appointed a Korean Consultant Yooshin Engineering Corporation who had completed the DPP. The same consultant also submitted the feasibility study report to the Bangladesh Railway earlier.
The sources said, the Consultant of Korean Company Yooshin Engineering Corporation began the feasibility study in December in 2021 last. According to the DPP, the construction of the bridge was supposed to begin from January last which will be concluded on June 2030 next, Railway sources said.
The demand for the construction of Kalurghat Bridge over the Karnaphuli River has been going on for many years. People used to cross the river through a dilapidated nine-decade-old bridge. As the bridge is under renovation for the last six months, they have to cross the river by ferries.
As per fresh DPP, the Kalurghat Bridge will be constructed a four-lane one with single deck.
