Ctg contractors want dev project cost increased

The LGED Contractors Association in Chattogram has demanded that the cost of the ongoing development projects be increased in keeping with the rising prices of construction materials.

The contractors of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) raised the demand from a protest rally organised in front of the LGED Bhaban in Chattogram's Sholashahar area on Sunday.

Before the rally, the contractors staged a sit-in at the same venue protesting at the rising prices of construction materials.

At the rally, they called on the government to rein in the prices of construction materials and warned of work stoppage in the port city if the cost of the ongoing development projects is not adjusted with the rising prices of construction materials.

The contractors said although this is supposed to be the peak of the season, implementation of the projects has come down to 25% at present. If the prices of construction materials continue to rise day by day, it will become impossible to continue working. According to the government rules, if the price of construction material increases by 30%, it is adjusted with the project cost. 

Apart from LGED, contractors from other departments also joined the rally presided over by Saiful Islam, president of LGED Contractors Association.

At the rally, Asaduzzaman Titu, general secretary of the Chattogram LGED Contractors Association, said, "Prices of bricks, sand, cement and rods have gone up with the rise in fuel prices. At the same time, the prices of various products including electric, hardware and sanitary have gone up by about 35%. The daily wages of construction workers have also increased as a result of rising commodity prices. Earlier, the wage of a construction worker was Tk500 which has increased to Tk800 at present. Apart from this, the price per tonne of rods has increased to Tk81,000 now from Tk50,000. The price per tonne of imported stone was Tk34,000, now it has jumped to Tk51,000. Thus the prices of all construction materials have gone up, but LGED's rate has not been rescheduled.

President of the association Saiful Islam said, "Many contractors have gone bankrupt due to the rising prices of construction materials. Many development projects have come to a standstill due to a lack of budget. Rod prices are now the highest in recent years."

Contractors Mohiuddin Sufal, Ali Hossain, Mohsin Haider Nazrul Islam, Salauddin Liton, Shawkat Hossain, Md Elias Chowdhury, Abdullah Titu, Jamshed Chowdhury and Jahangir Alam, among others, attended the event.

Later, the contractors brought out a protest procession from the LGED Bhaban.