Bangladesh blacklists Chinese construction firm, cancels highway deal after bribe claim
State-backed China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) was in negotiations with the Bangladesh government to expand a major highway
Bangladesh has blacklisted a top Chinese construction firm for allegedly trying to bribe a senior government official and stopped its work in the country.
The state-backed China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) was in negotiations with the Bangladesh government to expand a major highway from the capital Dhaka to the northeastern city of Sylhet, a top government official said.
The country’s road transport minister Obaidul Quader said Wednesday that the blacklisted company’s work in Bangladesh has been stopped, but declined to identify the firm or its projects.
Finance minister A.M.A. Muhith had confirmed the ban late Tuesday when he was asked by a reporter about CHEC allegedly trying to bribe an official.
Muhith told reporters that the firm was blacklisted and could no longer work in Bangladesh after it offered the top bureaucrat in the road transport ministry around 5 million taka (US$60,000) as a bribe.
CHEC could not be reached for comment.
