The Chinese contractor, which was found responsible for the fatal accident in Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project area, will not be allowed to work in the country after the completion of the project.
Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader came up with the statement while briefing the journalists after a meeting with the heads of the agencies under the Road Transport and Highways Division on Sunday.
Elaborating on the reasons behind allowing the Chinese company to complete the BRT project, the minister said, “79 per cent of work of the project was done at the time of the accident. So we have to complete the rest 20 per cent as selecting a new contractor after a fresh tender will be time-consuming. People's sufferings will then increase further.”
He said the government has allowed the contractor, China Gezhouba Group Company, to complete the BRT project work only for the sake of the country's resources and time.
The meeting stressed taking realistic measures to ease traffic congestion, especially on the Dhaka-Gazipur road which has taken new heights in recent times.
The minister directed all concerned to ease traffic jams between Dhaka and Joydevpur at any cost.
On August 15 last, five people were killed in the Uttara area as a girder of an under-construction BRT project fell on a private car. An inquiry committee held the Chinese contractor China Gezhouba Group Company responsible for the incident.
smunima@yahoo.com