The government has cancelled a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with a Malaysian consortium to construct a multi-storey building in the Jhilmil residential project in Keraniganj, near Dhaka. The decision was taken after no progress in nine years and in the wake of multiple allegations of irregularities.
The decision to cancel the agreement was made at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs last Tuesday (April 21).
According to relevant sources, a PPP agreement was signed between RAJUK and Malaysia’s BNG Global Holding Sdn Bhd consortium on November 16, 2017, during the Awami League government.
There were plans to construct 85 multi-storey buildings on 160 acres of land at a cost of around Tk 9,979 crore. This included 20-storey and 25-storey buildings.
Although the project was supposed to be implemented within 8 years as per the agreement, the private partner could not fulfill any of the conditions within the stipulated time. Out of the 12 conditions under the PPP agreement, RAJUK fulfilled most of them, but the private partner could not properly implement even one condition.
Although there was an obligation to fulfill the conditions within 180 days of signing the agreement, it was ignored. Later, a final notice was given on February 18, 2024, but no progress was made.
Meanwhile, questions also arise about the capacity of the foreign company involved in the project. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ verification found that the company concerned was not suitable for implementing the project. Doubts also arose about the existence of Boulevard Capital Partners Limited, the company financing the project. No office was found at the address given in Hong Kong. According to information from international credit rating agencies, the company’s capital is very small, which makes it impossible to finance such a large project.
A Chinese company, a partner in the project, also complained about the alleged fraud and misappropriation of nearly $24 million in funds collected under the guise of a joint venture. The matter is currently under investigation.
In the progress review meeting related to the PPP project discussed by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, RAJUK was instructed to take appropriate action as per the PPP agreement for not complying with the terms of the agreement. In addition, in a review meeting chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of the PPP Authority on October 19 last year, it was decided to take necessary action to be presented by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to withdraw the project from the PPP list.