A major tender for the construction of the Chandpur passenger terminal under the World Bank-funded Chandpur passenger terminal has been accused of serious irregularities, predetermined assessments and wastage of public money.
Comilla Dockyard, who participated in the tender, claimed in a written complaint to the chairman of the BIWTA that the order had been issued within just one working day without actual assessment and the work was given to the higher bidder ignoring the lowest bidder.
According to the complaint, the tender for Tender No. 129493 (BRWTP-W3-LOT-02A) was opened on 25th June 2026 at 4pm. The order was finalized the next day. However, it usually takes two to three weeks to complete the administrative, technical and financial assessment, qualification verification and approval of an infrastructure project of more than Rs 80 crore.
The claim of the complainant’s joint venture is that it is not possible to complete the assessment in such a short time. Their complaints and the decision of the order were already scheduled and the evaluation process was only formality.
Referring to the tender opening report, the complaint said that the TBEL-TCBL-TEC joint-rated price was Rs 76 crore, 23 lakh, 56 thousand, whereas the price of the Mayar-Kabirs Syndicate was Rs 80 crore. That is, despite the higher price of Rs.90 lakhs, they have been given orders.
According to the complainant, the minimum wage is supposed to be given to the minimum bidder in technical terms as per the government procurement code. If that policy was followed, it would have been possible to save a significant savings in the sense of the government and the World Bank. The letter also raised questions about the implementation of the past projects of the organization. The complainant claimed that the time had to be extended as the work was not completed on several projects of the BIWTA in the past. Despite this, the joint venture led by the same organization has been given big projects again.
Former Fascist Awami League MP and Chhatra League president Mahmud Hasan Ripon is still controlling the BIWTA tender and getting a job of Rs 80 crore to his company
The charge sheet also raises questions about political influence and conflicts of interest. It has been claimed that the activities with the working-laying organization are directly owned by former Fascist Awami League MP and Chhatra League president Mahmud Hasan Ripon directly with family and business involvement and ownership of that relationship has affected the tender process. Mahmoud Hasan Ripon’s wife Mariam Zaman is the only chairman of the party. The real owner of this identity. According to sources, the fugitive Ripon is currently sitting in India, controlling the tender of BIWTA and getting his company.
The complainant has made a five-point demand to the BIWTA. These include the immediate suspension of the order, the publication of a full assessment report, the formation of an independent inquiry committee, the re-evaluation of the government regulations and the assurance of taking any retaliatory action due to the allegations.
A copy of the charge sheet has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Shipping, the World Bank, the Central Purchasing Technical Unit (CPTU), the Auditor General and the Regulator and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Asked about this, Project Director Colonel Ferdous said the project was funded by the World Bank and its term was until June 29th. If the procurement had not been confirmed during this period, it would have gone under the new project in the future. The World Bank’s procurement guidelines would have changed, which would have pushed the entire process back to another six to eight months.
The project in Chandpur is about ten years old and the previous contractor, Toma Construction, has left the work. This is the third time that the tender has been called. The procurement was not successful due to the previous liquid asset and turnover problems. This time it was only 21st day when the tender was re-tendered on June 10th. The process was completed in the fastest time i.e. fourteen days in the interest of the people and so that the money of the project is not returned.
The e-GP system was opened on June 25th. The evaluation committee shows that the lowest bidder company has submitted fake audit reports and papers. As a result, they become non-responsive. The World Bank submitted its approval to the World Bank with the approval of the ministry within a day to catch the deadline on June 29th. He said the EGP system has no scope for political identity or any other influence. Because it automatically works based on mathematical calculations and documents. In many cases, the system automatically cancels it by identifying it as a ‘significantly low tender’ (SLT).
The project director also said that he has come from the army to make the project a success and has made every effort to protect the deadline of June 29th for the sake of the country. If a company obstructs fake documents in government work, they are likely to be blacklisted. The project has finally been secured in time and it is now under the World Bank’s review.
On the other hand, certain allegations against the Mayar-Kabirs syndicate have questioned the entire tender process.
Disqualification and relaxation of conditions:
According to a detailed search, Mayar Limited was considered ‘un-responsive’ in the same tender two months ago. The miner’s tronovers submitted to the tender for the work was incompetent at the time of inadequacy. Their previous conditions were relaxed in a planned way to get the work done later. Even if there was a tender of Rs 73 crore earlier, it was re-tendered by Rs 77 crore to facilitate the payment of more money to Mayar Limited. The BIWTA and the contractors have been outraged by the fact that the company of former BCL president Mahmud Hasan Ripon became eligible two months ago in the same tender.
Fraud on time and process: This time there have been allegations of irregularities in the tender process. It has been said that the tender droping is done only three days before the 29th, with the excuse that the money will be returned, while the CPTU (CPTU) requires a minimum of 14 days. The demand for returning money has been referred to as ‘completely false’ because it was a new project. Also, according to the deadline on June 29th, the tender process could have been started earlier, the contractors said.
Mayar-Kabir Syndicate:
As Mayar Limited did not have the ability to work alone, they formed a ‘Mayar-Kabir Syndicate’ with another company called ‘Kabir’. The company has been accused of irregularities that the syndicate has been given a mandate in just one day.
Ownership and political links: The main investor of the company is Mahmudur Rahman Ripon, the former president of the banned Chhatra League, who is reportedly currently in India. His wife is the nominal chairman of the company and a person named Yasir Rabbi is the MD. Ripon is controlled by his wife from India. Yasir Rabbi is the MD.
Past Records of the Work:
Mayar Limited has been working for around Rs 600 to Rs 80 crore, including dredging in BIWTA since the last government. It is alleged that they have not handed over a single task from the Awami League period to date. It is normal for the company to create controversy over the new Rs 80 crore job.
PD Colonel Ferdous and Member (Engineering) Rakibul Islam Talukder said the main reason for the exclusion of the transover is due to the inconsistencies in their submitted transovers. However, the lowest bidder company Comilla Dockyard has been informed that they have submitted some of the additional private transover documents required. Without them, the transaction was enough to get the loanor work submitted according to the demand of the tender.