25 Road Projects in Faridpur: LGED cancels Tk 88cr contracts over delay

The contracts of 25 road and culvert construction projects, worth more than Tk 88 crore, have been cancelled by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Faridpur.

The projects have been cancelled between September 10 and September 13 as the construction works remained paused for more than 28 days, said LGED officials.

The construction companies -- Pratyasha Enterprise, and Sajjad Barkat Engineering Ltd, owned by Sajjad Hossain Barkat, former general secretary of Faridpur town Awami League; and Rafia Construction Ltd owned by Imtiaz Hasan Rubel, former president of Faridpur Press Club -- did not respond to show-cause letters sent by the LGED.

Both the owners of the construction companies are now in jail for their involvement in multiple cases.

According to the work agreement rules of PPR, LGED has the right to cancel any work if the companies stop work for 28 days or more, said KM Faruk Hossain, executive engineer of LGED.

The contracts of 25 projects have been cancelled and 13 more have been recommended for cancellation for the same reason, he added.

The total worth of the 25 construction projects was Tk 882,199,769, of which Tk 187,310,000 have been withdrawn by the construction companies, said LGED sources.

Among the 25 packages, 70 to 90 percent works have been completed for four projects but the works of 14 projects have not started yet, they added.

The LGED authorities sent two letters to the construction companies before cancelling the project contracts but those returned without any response.