Contractor absconding, work on 55 bridges, 7 roads held up for 22 months

Construction work on 55 bridges and seven roads in Patuakhali, with a combined project value of Tk 765 million (76.5 crore), has remained stalled for 22 months.

In some locations, bridge construction has been completed but connecting roads remain unfinished, while in others contractors have left roads covered with brick chips and sand for extended periods without further progress.

Following the political changeover in 2024, the principal contracting company abandoned the projects, leaving the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) struggling to implement them.

According to LGED, IFTI-ETCL Private Limited, owned by Mohiuddin Maharaj, former Member of Parliament for the Pirojpur-2 constituency and joint general secretary of the district Awami League, served as the principal contractor for the works under 22 separate packages.

After the fall of the Awami League government, Mohiuddin Maharaj left the country and authorities subsequently froze his bank accounts. The resulting financial and transactional complications prompted local subcontractors to suspend work.

Md Hossain Ali Mir, executive engineer of LGED in Patuakhali, told Prothom Alo, “The local subcontractors stopped work after encountering various complications, including difficulties in withdrawing payments. The subcontractors subsequently filed cases with the court. As a result, we have been unable to cancel the contract with IFTI-ETCL and take further decisions. We have written to the Ministry of Local Government and other higher authorities on the matter. Once we receive guidance from the court and the relevant authorities, we will discuss the issue with the contractor and complete the projects as quickly as possible.”

According to sources at the LGED office in Patuakhali, during the 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24 financial years, LGED awarded contracts worth a total of Tk 765.737 million (76.5737 crore) to IFTI-ETCL Limited under 22 packages.

The contracts formed part of several projects, including the Important Upazila and Union Road Widening and Strengthening Project in Barishal Division (BDIRWSP), the Iron Bridge Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project (IBRP) in southern Bangladesh, the upazila town (excluding municipality) Master Plan Preparation and Basic Infrastructure Development Project (UTMIDP), and the upazila, union and Village Road Bridge Construction Project (UHBP) for bridges of less than 100 metres in length.

An analysis of LGED records shows that, through separate tenders, authorities allocated Tk 162.504 million (16.2504 crore) for the construction of 19 girder and iron bridges, box culverts, and connecting roads in Sadar upazila.

LGED also awarded a contract worth Tk 213.463 million (21.3463) for the improvement of 9.4 kilometres of road.

In Galachipa, LGED awarded contracts worth Tk 53 million (5.3 lakh) for the construction of seven girder and iron bridges and Tk 69.37 million for the improvement of 3.4 kilometres of road. In Kalapara, authorities approved Tk 72.962 million (7.2962 crore) for the construction of five bridges.

In Mirzaganj, they allocated Tk 109.836 million (10.9836 crore) for 20 bridges. In Rangabali, they approved Tk 65.3 million (6.53 crore) for four bridges, while in Dumki upazila they awarded a contract worth Tk 19.1 million (1.91 crore) for the improvement of 1.5 kilometres of road.

In total, the projects included the construction of 55 bridges and connecting roads, as well as the improvement of seven roads. Contractors were originally scheduled to complete the works within the respective financial years.

However, authorities extended the deadlines after the projects fell behind schedule. Under the latest revised timeline, contractors were expected to complete the road improvement works by October and November 2024.

The projects came to a standstill on 5 August 2024 when Mohiuddin Maharaj, owner of the principal contracting firm, fled the country.

Subsequently, on 13 August, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit froze the bank accounts of both Mohiuddin Maharaj and his company.

The resulting financial complications led subcontractors to suspend their work. Although LGED exchanged several rounds of correspondence in an effort to resolve the issue, no solution has yet emerged.

In addition, several subcontractors have been unable to return to the area for political reasons, leaving their respective works suspended as well.

According to LGED records, before the contractor absconded, the average physical progress of the seven road improvement projects stood at 56 per cent.

Among the seven projects, one had achieved the highest level of completion at 90 per cent, while another had reached only 25 per cent. The remaining projects recorded progress ranging between 40 and 60 per cent.

In contrast, the average progress of the bridge construction projects reached 77 per cent. In some cases, contractors completed the bridge structures in full.

The lowest level of completion was recorded in Galachipa, where work reached 60 per cent. The remaining bridge projects achieved progress levels ranging from 65 to 85 per cent.

However, in several packages across Kalapara, Galachipa, Sadar and Rangabali upazilas, contractors completed the main bridge structures but left the connecting roads unfinished. As a result, many of the nearly completed bridges remain unusable.

Executive Engineer Md Hossain Ali Mir said that authorities had approved the projects before he joined the Patuakhali office. After the original deadlines expired, LGED extended the implementation period.

However, following the fall of the previous government, complications involving bank accounts and financial transactions disrupted progress on the projects.

Attempts to contact Md Masum, Managing Director of the principal contracting firm IFTI-ETCL Limited, by mobile telephone on several occasions proved unsuccessful, as his phone remained switched off.

However, Abul Kalam Azad, a subcontractor engaged by the principal contractor, said that he had been responsible for six to seven of the projects, while other contractors handled the remainder.

He explained that after principal contractor Mohiuddin Maharaj left the country, authorities froze the company's bank accounts. Consequently, financial transactions between LGED and the subcontractors relating to the projects ceased.

Abul Kalam Azad claimed that he currently has no contact with anyone associated with IFTI-ETCL. He said, “Several subcontractors, including myself, have filed cases with the court to enable the completion of the unfinished works. However, we have not yet received any decision. We remain in regular contact with LGED. Once the complications are resolved, work will resume.”

During visits on 10 and 15 May to the canal adjacent to Sipaibari in Morichbunia union of Sadar upazila, it was observed that workers had completed the superstructure of the 30-metre iron bridge under construction.

However, the connecting road and other ancillary works remain unfinished. In both Sadar and Mirzaganj, contractors have fully completed several bridges, yet they have not constructed the connecting roads.

Similarly, road improvement works have stalled at various stages. In some locations, contractors have merely deposited brick chips on the road surface.

In others, they have excavated soil and left the work incomplete. Elsewhere, contractors removed soil from both sides of roads to facilitate widening works, leaving large trenches behind.

Heavy rainfall over a one-week period at the end of April caused waterlogging on many of these roads.

The roads are now riddled with holes and uneven surfaces, making them unsuitable not only for vehicular traffic but also dangerous for pedestrians.

Abdul Jabbar Mridha, a resident of Morichbunia union, told Prothom Alo, “Work has remained suspended since July 2024. The contractor’s representatives have not even come to inspect the bridge. As the connecting road remains unfinished, we cannot travel normally. Vehicular movement has also come to a complete halt.”