Work completed before contract award amid repeated failed bids!

A tender for removing poles, installing new street lights and reinstalling poles along the median from Rampura Bridge to Kuril Flyover has yet to be awarded, but most of the pole-related work has already been completed.

The work was carried out by a contractor allegedly on the assurance of being awarded the contract, despite failing to qualify in three previous bidding processes over the past year.

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is now preparing to invite the tender for the fourth time, even though key parts of the work have already been completed.

Due to the delay in awarding the contract, the six-kilometre stretch remains without proper lighting and is likely to remain in darkness until the tender process is completed and the required lights are imported and installed.

The developments have taken place at DNCC since December 2025.

Officials and contractors involved in the process alleged that DNCC executive engineer, additional chief engineer and former chief engineer assured SS Rahman International of securing the contract and allowed the firm to carry out preliminary work.

However, the company failed to qualify in three tender processes. It was also accused of submitting a questionable experience certificate during the evaluation process.

A contractor who participated in the tender alleged that DNCC Additional Chief Engineer Rafiqul Islam discouraged him from taking part in the bidding process and denied him the opportunity despite meeting the qualification criteria set by the evaluation committee led by the former chief engineer.

Rafiqul Islam denied the allegation and blamed former Chief Engineer Brig Gen Md Moin Uddin for the decision-making process.

SS Rahman International representative Md Salauddin also said the assurance came from the former chief engineer. However, more than one official claimed that both officials were involved in allowing the contractor to carry out the work.

Advance work carried out before tender award

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) has been laying pipelines under the road median from Rampura to Kuril along Pragati Sarani under the Dhaka Environmental Sustainable Water Supply Project since March 2025.

As part of the project, DWASA paid Tk9.54 crore in February 2025 for removing street-light poles and installing new ones along the six-kilometre stretch.

DNCC Executive Engineer Saiful Islam invited the tender three times — first on 1 June 2025, then on 9 December 2025, and again on 5 February 2026.

In the first tender, JAP Trading and SS Rahman International participated. JAP Trading, being the lowest bidder with a 15% lower quoted price, was selected for the contract, but the process was later cancelled.

In the second tender, SS Rahman International participated as the sole bidder but failed to qualify as a technically responsive bidder.

In the third tender, M/S Labon and Brothers emerged as the lowest bidder, while SS Rahman International was found to have insufficient experience and its submitted certificate was questioned during evaluation.

According to tender documents, SS Rahman International had completed similar works worth around Tk6 crore, while the required experience was Tk3.73 crore.

Following these developments, DNCC decided to invite the tender for a fourth time.

Despite failing to secure the contract, the pole removal and reinstallation work — which was part of the tender package — was completed, allowing DWASA to continue its pipeline work.

Talking to the Daily Sun on Wednesday, DWASA Executive Engineer Mustafizur Rahman said the city corporation had successfully removed poles and reinstalled some old poles after DWASA completed its work.

“We had no problem with the poles as the city corporation completed the required work,” he said.

During a visit to the Merul Badda to Notun Bazar stretch, this correspondent found that several poles had been removed and some had already been reinstalled.

Talking to the Daily Sun, Additional Chief Engineer Rafiqul Islam and tender inviter Saiful Islam admitted that they received financial assistance from a contractor to remove the poles to facilitate DWASA’s work.

SS Rahman representative Salauddin also confirmed the matter.

Saiful Islam said the contractor had provided Tk4 lakh to support the pole removal work but denied making any commitment regarding the contract.

“He assisted us with the work. I told him that the money would be returned even if he did not receive the contract,” he said.

Rafiqul Islam said the arrangement was made to resolve complications related to the pole-removal work.

“When SS Rahman was the sole bidder in the second tender, the poles needed to be removed as per DWASA’s requirement. The contractor assisted us and invested money in the work. We wanted to consider them on humanitarian grounds,” he said.

‘Work completed, only bill payment remains’

M/S Labon and Brothers submitted the lowest bid in the tender titled “Supply, installation, removal and re-installation of poles, brackets, smart LED street-light fittings, DCU, cable wires and related electrical materials from Rampura Bridge to Kuril intersection” on 5 February. The firm’s proprietor Md Moniruzzaman alleged that he was discouraged from participating in the tender despite meeting all requirements.

“When I met engineer Rafiqul Islam after submitting the tender, he asked why I participated without informing him. I told him it was an open tender and anyone could participate,” he said.

“He told me the work had already been completed and only the bill payment remained after the notification of award,” Moniruzzaman alleged.

Rafiqul Islam denied the allegation and said he had made no such statement.

The Daily Sun contacted former chief engineer Brig Gen Md Moin Uddin regarding allegations against him, but he did not respond.

Pragati Sarani left without lighting

DNCC has spent more than a year attempting to appoint a contractor for supplying 540 LED lights, 795 poles and related equipment. As a result, the six-kilometre stretch remains dark after sunset, creating safety concerns for commuters.

A senior DNCC official, seeking anonymity, said the corporation was reviewing the tender documents and updating the bill of quantities before inviting the tender again. “A tender process normally takes three to six months for evaluation and award. The lights will also need to be imported and installed, which may take several more months,” he said.

The official blamed administrative delays for the prolonged inconvenience faced by commuters.

The Daily Sun attempted to contact DNCC Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan for comments. However, he did not meet the correspondent. Written questions sent through his private secretary and assistant private secretary did not receive a response.

Public administration expert Firoz Mia said the matter could be verified through an investigation by the Local Government Division or the Anti-Corruption Commission. “If the allegations are found to be true after reviewing the tender documents and work site, action should be taken against those responsible,” he said. He added that authorities should treat such allegations seriously to ensure accountability within public institutions.