Abdul Monem Ltd goes from strength to strength

Bangladesh launched its first metro rail on December 28. Albeit it is running on a limited scale at present, it holds the promise of offering a fast-commuting experience to thousands of people every day and contributing to ridding the capital city of notorious traffic congestion.  

The 21.26-kilometre elevated metro rail is being built at Tk 33,500 crore with the majority of finances coming from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Contractors from Japan, Thailand, China, and India are implementing most of the project. One Bangladeshi company, Abdul Monem Ltd (AML), stands out as well.

One of the leading infrastructure developers in Bangladesh, AML constructed the metro rail's 3.2km viaduct and three stations from Agargaon to Karwan Bazar under joint ventures with foreign companies.

"Through the project, AML learned how to construct a structure using technologies while keeping the traffic mobile," said ASM Mainuddin Monem, managing director of AML, in an interview with The Daily Star recently.

He cited the foundation and superstructure of the project as unique. "It looks like a bridge but its efficacy is different."

AML and its partners built some structures off-site and used heavy cranes to erect them mainly at night.

"It was a unique learning for our engineers and supervisors. We have been able to complete the work despite financial challenges. These projects are the outcome of the experience Abdul Monem Ltd has gained over the years," he said.

The private infrastructure builder started its journey almost from scratch nearly seven decades ago when its founder Abdul Monem decided to bet on the streets of Dhaka, the then capital of East Pakistan, after coming from his home district Brahmanbaria.

Using Tk 20,000 proceeds from a partnership, he set up AML in 1956. And the company went on to execute some challenging infrastructure projects in Bangladesh. One of them was the 44km Khulna-Mongla highway built in 1984.

It did not stop there. Rather, it diversified to other sectors.

It has become the bottler of Coca Cola, the producer of ice-cream, dairy products, food items, snacks, and pharmaceuticals. It is a maker of auto bricks, bitumen and construction materials. It runs the country's first private economic zone.

Recently, it constructed the approach road of the much-cherished Padma Bridge, the largest bridge project in Bangladesh.

It repaired the runway of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and the Osmani International Airport in Sylhet and built the Modhumoti Bridge, the first six-lane bridge in the southwestern district of Narail.

"We, the Bangladeshis, have constructed these," said Mainuddin.

AML has progressed with the advancement of Bangladesh, he said.

"We have footprints on the remarkable milestones of Bangladesh."

According to Mainuddin, 80 per cent of the construction work was manual in the early days. The use of technologies has given the construction sector an industrial shape.

"Today, we carry out 70 per cent of the construction by mechanised means and 30 per cent manually."

He said the group has implemented many interesting and technology-driven infrastructures.

"We have learned to use technologies as we progressed from project to project. We can work shoulder to shoulder with any construction company in the world."

AML expects to receive an increased flow of investments at its economic zone in Munshiganj's Gazaria after getting gas connection and adequate electricity supply and building the boundary wall.

In his interview, Mainuddin also talked about the challenges it faced after the demise of Abdul Monem in June 2020 and the group's future plans.

"We have been able to win the confidence of our stakeholders slowly," he said.

The group employs 6,000 people directly at its 12 concerns and plans to diversify its business in order to raise its annual turnover by two and a half times to over Tk 10,000 crore after five years from around Tk 4,000 crore now.

The group wants to make a foray into the agro-processing sector and aims to carry out bigger tasks in the construction sector.

AML aims to look into its business process to improve transparency, focus on managing risk in a prudential manner, and take initiatives to ensure environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.

"We have a responsibility to the environment. We try to use the technologies that are best suited to ensure environmental compliance. We are focusing on the localisation of concepts and trying to use indigenous materials."