graft, irregularities galore in Technical Education Board part-IV (concluded)
20-storey bldg being erected defying BUET report
Corruption, irregularities and mismanagement have allegedly gobbled up Bangladesh Technical Education Board thanks to an “all-powerful
syndicate”. The Independent has unearthed the malpractices going on inside this education board and will try to throw some light on the dark dealings there in a four-part report. The fourth and last part is on the construction of a 20-storey building bypassing a BUET report.
HARUN UR RASHID
The Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB) is continuing the construction work of its 20-storey building, ignoring a Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) report that said it would be hazardous to continue the work with significantly rusted rods right from the foundation. Bypassing the BUET report, an 11-member Project Implementation Committee (PIC), headed by BTEB chairman Mostafizur Rahman, has decided to do retrofitting work with the exposed rods that BUET had warned against.
Sources said the BUET clearly mentioned that the defects are a serious issue, considering the use of rusted bars in the completion of the construction work. Moreover, the PIC has also changed the design and drawing of the structure. It has also doubled the project cost, the sources added.
Sources said the BTEB was funding the entire construction of the building on a weak foundation, which could lead to a huge loss of government money. On Feb 25, 2015, a meeting was held at the education ministry to determine the next course of action on finishing the incomplete work of BTEB Bhavan-2. It was pointed out at the meeting that the BTEB in 2008 had taken up the project to construct a 20-storey BTEB Bhavan-2 to overcome space constraints.
In the beginning, the cost for the construction of a 10-storey building with the foundation of a 20-storey one was estimated to be Tk 13.68 crore with a completion time of July 2008 to June 2010. Later, the project cost was increased to Tk. 23.61 crore
and the completion period extended to June 2013. But the contractor stopped work after the completion of the buildings basement, raising various demands including a revision of the public works department (PWD) rates.
The meeting maintained that as per the Procurement Act, there was no way to fulfil the contractors demand. As a result, work stopped on September 1, 2013 and the project was left unfinished.
The meeting with education secretary Nazrul Islam Khan in the chair was informed that the formulation of the development project proforma (DPP) and adoption of the project had not been proper.
He also said that the construction of a 10-storey building on a foundation meant for a 20-storey structure would amount to a loss of both time and money.
The meeting decided to revise the DPP within the earliest possible time to enable the construction of a 20-storey building on a matching foundation.
As the construction was halted in 2013 due to the conflict of interest between the BTEB and the contractor, the foundation remained submerged under 15-feet water for two years. Then, on September 16, 2015, the BTEB requested the metallurgical engineering department of the BUET through a letter signed by Alamgir Hossain, deputy secretary (admin) of the education board, to test the corroded, exposed and deformed foundation bars of the under-construction building.
On Oct 6, 2015, a two-member BUET team visited the site. It found that the water on the foundation had been removed just before its visit and the foundation was still wet. They inspected the exposed bars and found that almost all of them had rusted.
On Nov 1, 2015, the BUET submitted the test report, saying the rib height of the deformed bars was severely corroded being under water for two long years. Besides, numerous cracks and pits are also found on the bar after removal of rust from the surface. In case the construction is restarted using these corrosion-affected bars, the corrosion may occur at an accelerated rate through cracks and pits.
Since the deformed bars are in use in the most bottom part (foundation) of a 20-storyed building, the defects are likely to result in serious issues, it added. After obtaining the BUET report, a steering committee at the education ministry held a meeting on December 20, 2015. The meeting noted that the exposed rods of five columns and the eight-foot-long exposed rods on the cast mat foundation of 14 columns, including the walls of the basement, have rusted due to exposure to the elements for a long time.
The meeting also discussed the BUET test report, which said the rods were unusable. The meeting directed that the causes of the delay should be identified immediately and that the project work should not be stopped.
Later, on February 14, 2016, another meeting was held at the education ministry. It decided to form a three-member committee to identify the reasons behind the delay, to send a revised DPP to the ministry within a month, and to make concerted efforts to complete the project in time.
Finally, on March 9, 2016, the DPP was revised, and the cost of the BTEB Bhaban-2 stood at Tk. 66.78 crore. Some changes have been made for the retrofitting of the building construction from its foundation. There will be no problem due the change of the design and drawing. The building will be strong, the director of the Finishing the incomplete work of BTEB Bhavan-2 project, Faisal Mufti, told The Independent on Friday.
Asked about the BUET test report, Mufti said: I was not the project director at the time. When I joined, the building had already been constructed till the third floor. I dont know about it. Asked who would take responsibility if a mishap were to occur, Mufti said he did not know that. When BTEB chairman Mostafizur Rahman was asked how they were continuing the construction of the building, he declined to comment on the matter.
Several BUET experts told The Independent that the building, standing on heavily rusted bars, would not be strong enough and there could be a catastrophe in the near future.
