Anomalies galore in BTCL 5G project
While we were happy to learn about a government project to develop an optical fibre transmission network with a view to building 5G infrastructure in the country, the way the project is being handled has raised questions. According to a report by Prothom Alo, the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL), the implementing agency of the project, has not followed due procedure in awarding the project contract. The decision was apparently reached after evaluating all submitted financial proposals in just four days, which, experts say, should have taken at least a month.
Reportedly, the BTCL opened the tender proposals submitted by ZTE, Huawei and Nokia on November 8, and by November 12, it submitted its evaluation report. Since the Huawei Technologies Limited was the lowest bidder with an offer of Tk 326 crore, it was given the notification of award on November 13. The question is: why and how did the BTCL do all this in such a short time? It has been alleged that the BTCL has completed the process hurriedly to give the work to the company of its choice, which should be looked into by the higher authorities.
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According to experts, there are many aspects related to financial proposals that should be evaluated before awarding a contract to any company. While the financial and technical experience of companies need to be carefully examined, potential mistakes in calculations also need to be checked. Additionally, the rates given by companies need to be verified and all the rates need to be converted into taka according to the currency rates. Most importantly, the financial proposals need to be evaluated according to the law, rules and tender conditions. The question is: have all these been done properly by the BTCL?
Since Bangladesh has set the target of reaching the upper-middle-income-country status by 2031 and high-income status by 2041, the importance of internet and digital technology cannot be overstated. Therefore, setting up a 5G optical fibre transmission network is very important. But if such projects are riddled with irregularities from the start, one cannot but be concerned about what will happen during the course of the project implementation or even about the future of those lofty goals. We, therefore, urge the government to investigate the allegations of anomalies raised against the BTCL and take proper action.
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