All 3 Chinese bidders declared disqualified for Teletalk's Tk3,000cr rural 4G project

• Disqualified Chinese firms are CMEC, CITCC, and YCIH
• CITCC, YCIH failed to meet tender requirements
• They didn't even pay $3 million security deposit
• CMEC proposed alternative products by less known manufacturers

A technical evaluation committee has declared all three Chinese bidders disqualified for Teletalk's Tk3,000 crore project for expansion of 4G mobile broadband network up to union level.

Following it, the state-owned mobile operator a week ago sought opinion from the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) regarding its next move, confirmed Teletalk Acting Managing Director Nurul Mabud Chowdhury.

"The evaluation committee found each of the three firms non-responsive," he told TBS on Monday (24 February).

The Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance in January 2024 sought for Chinese support in the government to government project worth around Tk3,000 crore for Teletalk.  Two-thirds of the cost was set to be financed by the Chinese government and the remaining one-third by the Bangladesh Government.

On 16 June, the Chinese Embassy's Economic and Commercial Office wrote to the ERD recommending three Chinese enterprises to be invited for bidding in a limited tendering.

The evaluation committee found the three firms non-responsive. We will now wait for the government's opinion

Nurul Mabud Chowdhury, Acting Managing Director at Teletalk

China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC), Yunnan Construction and Investment Holdings Group Co (YCIH) were the three firms.

Teletalk in September last year, floated the tender inviting them to participate.

Teletalk officials and a member of the technical committee told TBS, apparently CITCC and YCIH left the tender for CMEC by not fulfilling the tender requirements.

CITCC and YCIH even did not pay the security deposit of $3 million, sought in the tender. Also, they proposed the same equipment or products manufactured by multiple alternative companies, while the tender asked for only one specific brand for each equipment or product.

On the other hand, CMEC could have been selected unless they had proposed multiple options as cheaper alternative equipment or products by less known manufacturers, raising concerns about the quality of the telecommunication infrastructure, said Teletalk officials.

Without commenting on the consequences of the developments, Nurul Mabud Chowdhury said, "We will wait for the government's opinion."

Teletalk, is the weakest telecom operator in the country having some 3,323 towers and only 65.6 lakh subscribers while its nearest competitor Banglalink is about to have 4 crore subscribers.

The project included some 500 new tower construction, equipment for 2,000 towers including replacement of 1,200 tower equipment for 2G and 4G capability, spectrum upgrading for 740 sites, upgrading its peripheral core network, transmission network, inspection, testing and training.