|| Special Correspondent: On March 4, 2026, Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) published a notice for the construction of a pipe network, including DMAs and metered service connections, in its expansion areas. The project will be implemented with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Controversy has arisen over several conditions in this tender.Khulna WASA has set certain evaluation criteria (qualifications) for this work in a manner that appears applicable to only one specific company. The basis of these arrangements is that their tender documents and Bill of Quantities (BOQ) were not prepared in accordance with the Public Procurement Rules or ADB guidelines. The maximum pipe size for this work has been specified as 500 mm. However, for 500 mm work, experience with 1000 mm work has been required. For some unknown reason, Khulna WASA’s imposition of such a condition is suspicious.Upon reviewing the tender documents, Section 6, Employer’s Requirements (ERQ), Clause 1.6 – Manufacturers’ Experience: Materials HDPE Pipes and Fittings – specifies a minimum of 1000 mm. It also states that manufacturers must have 10 years of experience. Only one company in the country meets this criterion.Investigations reveal that only one institution in Bangladesh has worked with 1000 mm pipes on such projects. Therefore, conditions have been included in this tender to create an opportunity for only that company to be selected.In Bangladesh and other countries, experience criteria are generally aligned with the main scope of work so that all capable firms can participate. But in this tender, the evaluation criteria have been formulated in a way that excludes most firms. Through this evaluation process, the work has been restricted to a few institutions, and an attempt is being made to provide special advantage.Providing such special advantage to award the work to only one institution will create an opportunity to favor WASA’s preferred company. The cost of the work will also increase. If tenders are called in this manner through corruption, the country will suffer significant losses.Regarding this, Khulna WASA Managing Director Muhammad Kamruzzaman said, “I have to check the file to comment on this. Today is Friday. Please call on Monday.”The question arises: Is it not negligence that, even though the tender notice signed by Khulna WASA MD Muhammad Kamruzzaman was published in newspapers, he is unaware of the matter? Then who is running Khulna WASA?Khulna WASA Deputy Managing Director (Finance & Administration) Jhumur Bala said, “I cannot say anything about this. Because I am not involved in issuing the tender. I am the convener of the tender evaluation committee. I am involved only in the evaluation work after the tender is floated. The Supervising Engineer and the MD can better explain what conditions have been included in the tender.”Khulna WASA Supervising Engineer Khan Selim Ahmed said, “No company will face problems submitting a tender due to this condition. This means that the company from which the pipes are purchased must have this quality. In this case, the contractor will not face any problem submitting a tender.”