Dhaka, Bangladesh, November 16, 2020
Aim Texas Trading, LLC Overseas Management Group has attended a tender in Joint Venture with Koltek Consulting Inc. (JV member, Turkey), SAMAN Corporation (JV member Korea), David Lupton & Associates Ltd. (JV Member, New Zealand), and Javed International Consultants (JIC – Sub-consultant, Bangladesh) in providing consulting services for Preparation Feasibility Study and Detailed Design Consultant (FSDDC, Reference No. SP-07) under Bangladesh Western Economic Corridor & Regional Enhancement Program (WeCARE) Phase-I, whereas Aim Texas is the Lead Consultant.
The Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh has received financing from the World Bank for implementing the Western Economic Corridor & Regional Enhancement Program (WeCARE) Phase-I and intends to apply part of the proceeds for the Consulting Services of Feasibility Study and Detailed Design Consultant (FSDDC).
The broad scope of consulting services (“the Services”) include carrying out the tasks mentioned below along the Jhenaidah- Jashore National Highway segment and Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron National & Regional Highway segment.
- Prepare feasibility study and detailed design for Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron Highway segment.
- Update the existing feasibility study and detailed design for Jhenaidah-Jashore Highway segment that was done under SRTPPF.
- Carrying out all required surveys and investigations.
- Preparing Cost Estimates, Specifications, Bill of Quantities, Bidding Documents and providing Procurement support.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) under Road Transport and Highways Division, Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Government of Bangladesh now invites eligible Consultancy Firms to express their interest in providing the Services.
Road transport accounts for 70 percent for passenger and 60 percent for freight traffic in Bangladesh. The total road network size of the country is roughly 375,000 km (road density of roughly 250 km per 100 km2), reflecting the progress in improving connectivity access. The rural road network makes up 94 percent of the network, and Bangladesh has one of the highest scores on the Rural Access Index. Yet, despite improvements in access, the overall quality of the road network remains poor. Only 27 percent of the rural roads and 40 percent of the main roads are paved, half of which are in good condition. Currently, most inter-district roads and highways do not conform to the standards of the Asian Highway norms.
The WeCARE program is a Multi-Phased Approach (MPA) intended to finance upgradation of a total of 260-Km existing road in the western Region of Bangladesh from 2-lane to 4-lane and improvement of the safety conditions and features of these roads. For the first phase of the MPA, which is this project, an approximately 48.7-km Jashore – Jhenaidah Road will be upgraded. This road connects Natore, Pabna, Kushtia districts to Jashore, Khulna and Satkhira districts.
The program is a ten-year long initiative with four phases which will support the Bangladesh Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) to upgrade 260 km of national highway from a two-lane single carriageway to a four-lane divided cariageway, to reduce the time and cost of travel for passengers and freight and also develop supportive trunk infrastructure including markets and logistics to provide an impetus to the regional economy. The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will finance different segments of the WeCARE program in parallel. The assignment will be completed 7 months, and the consultant will work closely with the LGED’s PIU unit and coordinate their work with other relevant units of LGED, Ministry of Local Government, local administrations, development partners and relevant ministries and agencies.