Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover deal scrapped

Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) finally cancelled the contract with Belhasa Accom JV and Associates regarding the Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover project.
DCC Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka Sunday evening signed the contract cancellation letter and sent it to Belhasa JV and Associates. The DCC is also preparing to file a criminal case against Obaidul Karim, managing director of Belhasa and chairman of Orion Group, for cheating.
This new development halts the eight-kilometre-long Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover project.
Earlier, the LGRD ministry asked the DCC to cancel the contract with Belhasa and the law ministry also expressed similar views.
Allegation of submitting a fake bank guarantee to get the work order was raised against Belhasa, the concessionary private investor of Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover project.
A task force carried out the investigation and revealed that there was not enough money in the bank account and the head office of Oriental Bank provided a fake guarantee of Tk 6.70 crore.
When the DCC asked Oriental Bank to explain, the bank authorities said Obaidul Karim was then the chairman of Oriental Bank and he influenced bank officials to issue the fake guarantee paper.
After detection of the forgery, the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Obaidul Karim with a special court. The court on December 27 last year sentenced Karim to life imprisonment and fined him Tk 6.70 crore. It also cancelled the guarantee paper.
However, Belhasa JV Accom obtained an ad interim stay order from the High Court on the cancellation of the contract of Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover project. The DCC later appealed to the Supreme Court and the court vacated the High Court stay order.
Following the vacation order, the DCC authorities started the process of cancelling the contract.
Earlier, project director of Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover project engineer Ashiqur Rahman was suspended after proof of his involvement in corruption was found.
Belhasa JV had received the work order under Build Operate and Transfer (BOT). They had permission to operate the flyover and collect pre-approved toll for 24 years after completing the project in three years.
The DCC floated an international tender in 2003 to build the Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover. The DCC signed the deal with the company on June 21, 2005.