GK Shamim's arrest leaves public works ministry in the lurch

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works is scrambling for alternatives after contractor Golam Kibria Shamim -- whose company was tasked with a number of its construction projects -- was sent to jail on drugs- and illegal arms-related charges.

Obaidur Masumbdnews24.com
Published : 7 Oct 2019, 09:27 PM
Updated : 7 Oct 2019, 09:42 PM

Housing Minister SM Rezaul Karim hinted at terminating the contracts with Shamim's firm and awarding them to new contractors.

"A government project cannot be held up by the failings of any contractor. We will send a notice out to relevant contractors in accordance with the laws. If he (Shamim) can't go ahead with the projects then we will assess the progress of the work and if necessary, revoke the contracts."

But the minister could not shed light on a timeline to complete the process of scrapping the contracts and assigning new contractors to implement the projects.

But engineers of the Public Works Department believe it will take a long time to scrap the contract and start afresh.

Shamim's firm GKB and Company Private Ltd currently has its hands on 53 construction projects of the public works ministry with a total allocation of around Tk 5.5 billion.

Of these projects, his firm is working alone in 13 projects. The remaining 40 projects are joint ventures, according to the ministry, which has approved 24 of these.

Shamim

Eight projects were greenlit by the chief engineer of the Public Works Department and three by the additional chief engineer. The cabinet committee on public purchase approved the other 17 projects.

Shamim used to influence government officials by identifying himself as 'Narayanganj Awami League's vice president and the cooperative affairs secretary to Jubo League's central committee' in order to secure contracts.

He was arrested after a raid on his office on Sept 20 as part of the government's crackdown on the illegal gambling business.

RAB seized about Tk 20 million in cash, Tk 1.75 billion worth of fixed-deposit receipt or FDR savings, alcohol and firearms during the raid on his business in Dhaka's Niketon.

Shamim and his seven bodyguards were subsequently implicated in three cases.

Since his arrest, work on different projects under his charge has stalled. Construction work on the Chattogram Hill Tracts Complex in the capital's Bailey Road was found stopped on Sunday.

Not a single worker was seen on the site as two security guards kept watch. They were seen conversing with one Kamal Hossain at the spot.

When asked, Kamal said he conducted all joinery work for the building but is concerned about his future now that the construction work has stopped.

"I also work at a few other buildings. But the work is now on hold. I can't say when it will resume. All I keep hearing is Shamim will get bail today, tomorrow... ."

GKB is also jointly working on the construction of buildings of the National Board of Revenue and National Neuro Science Institute and Hospital in Agargaon.

But work on the two adjacent buildings has been shelved with a lock hanging on the main gate to the construction area. Once again two security guards were found patrolling the forlorn site.

One of the guards 'Mahbub' said the construction work ground to halt five days after Shamim's arrest.

"Work was still ongoing five days into Shamim sir's arrest. But it came to a stop after that. A lot of people were working here but they left as they weren't getting paid."

Although Shamim's company was overseeing the main work on the NBR building, another firm was in charge of installing the air-conditioning system.

"Our head office has cut off the supply of goods. As a result, the work has completely stopped," an employee of the other firm said.

GKB also undertook work on a building of the National Orthopedic Hospital and Rehabilitation Institute. Although the construction is complete, work on its power and water supply lines remain unfinished.

No-one from the company was found at the site. An Ansar member named 'Golap' said all the workers left after Shamim was arrested.

"The building's construction work is finished. They were supposed to hand it over soon after some minor work but that stopped after GK Shamim's arrest."

The Public Works Department has prepared a list tracking the progress of the projects undertaken by Shamim's firm.

Among these, none of the 13 projects under its sole control has been fully completed -- some are 99%  complete while others are at a nascent stage.

In order to find out what lies in store for these projects, bdnews24.com made several attempts to contact GKB's chief engineer Md Golam Mustafa over the phone. But he did not respond to our calls or text messages.

The public works minister was uncertain about when a final notice to complete the projects might be sent to Shamim's firm.

"We aren't setting a deadline yet. There are various rules and processes associated with it. We will issue notices to other contractors over the projects in which work has stalled or stopped completely. It will be done soon," said Rezaul.