Project work goes on in good pace

Implementation of the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover project in the capital is making headway ahead of schedule after despite procedural and physical adversities, say project officials.
They aim at opening the facility for the public in two years from now.
As many as 14 pillars have already been built in Jatrabari and Joykali Mandir sites against the scheduled target of nine by mid-February, said Salman Obaidul Karim, managing director of Belhasa Accom and Associates Ltd (BAAL), concessionaire of the project.
"Our target is to build six more within February," he said. The ten-kilometre flyover requires over 200 such pillars.
Against the target of doing less than 200 pilings by the same deadline, 230 have so far been done, Salman added.
Pillars are being erected on heavily-built platforms each on a number of pilings after successful tests of load-bearing capacity.
A total of 233 spans will be built and fixed on top of the pillars with crane, trailer and launching girder to make up the flyover.
"We hope to start casting of spans by the end of March," said Salman, adding, "Our aim is to open the facility for public in January, 2013."
However, the work is going on in full swing without supervision of an independent consultant (IC) of the executing agency Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) as required by the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) rules.
Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, noted civil engineer and currently involved with Dhaka Elevated Expressway, said quality control by an IC is vital.
The Consulting Engineering Services (CES) of India was earlier appointed the IC for the project, said Md Abul Kalam Azad, chief executive officer of DCC.
Later, following certain changes in the length and structural design of the flyover, DCC needed to settle down new rate of man-month and conditions with CES and it caused delay in reappointment, said Azad.
A DCC team was scheduled to leave for India on February 13 to negotiate with CES.
Salman Karim said they have their own lab facilities to carry out regular testing of the construction materials on the site.
"That apart, we get each consignment of the materials tested at the Buet laboratory," he said, "The cement [Holcim and Scan] are of international standard."
For engineering supervision, Lea Associates South Asia, design consultant of the concessionaire, keeps a constant oversight on the construction, he said.
Ashiqur Rahman, superintending engineer of DCC and project director (PD) of Jatrabari flyover, said he has formed a quality control team with representatives of contractor, concessionaire's design consultant and the concessionaire.
Though the detailed drawing of the flyover is submitted to the DCC, it has not been able to approve it in absence of the IC though the prime minister formally inaugurated the project in June, said Rahman.
The flyover includes the length of 11 ramps and will have a four-lane carriageway. It will stretch from Dhaka-Chittagong highway towards Palashi through Gulistan and Kaptan Bazar.