02
Steady Supply of Safe Water Needed Urgently

To determine the profitability of the project, Akira Shirai, then responsible for design and cost estimation at the Tokyo Regional Office (now Project Manager of the Karnaphuli Water Supply Project), was sent to Chattogram. Although he had been involved in a sewage system project in Yemen in the past, Shirai had since taken on duties at the Technology Research Center and elsewhere, and so it was his first time in a long time to set foot on foreign soil. However, he felt daunted upon his arrival.

“I had never visited the city, but what I saw in Chattogram was total chaos. Overwhelmed by massive waves of people and seemingly endless traffic jams, I was at my wit’s end because I didn’t know if and how it would be possible to execute the construction of a water supply system there,” recalls Shirai.

What Shirai saw then remains the same today. Some might call it “Asian vibrancy,” but it would be more appropriate to describe it as “chaos in tumult.” After the most careful consideration, Shirai submitted a report after returning to Japan to the effect that the company should go ahead with the project, as it would be feasible with Kubota Construction’s technology for civil engineering work and Kubota Corporation’s cast iron pipes. However, more than a few opposed his proposal and insisted not to involve in this project due to the high risk. This project was the largest ever for Kubota Construction, and the cost of the construction work alone was comparable to Kubota Constructions total yearly turnover in Japan at the time. There was also a country-risk stemming from the national instability of Bangladesh. Should an unforeseen event falter the project, the company might face survival risk. At the end of the day, however, Shirai managed to have his opinion heard.

“I was under pressure due to the uncertain future of the project, but my thought process was simple: if we construct a water supply system, water can be supplied, which should realize a better living environment. I was also convinced that we had to do this because only we could do it. Of course, I carefully considered the profitability of the project before I made my decision.” (Shirai) Thus, the project began. The first hurdle it faced was an international tender.

Though the project was to be funded by the ODA, the JICA drew up a master plan with support from a consulting service (or an “engineer”). The responsibilities of such engineer would cover a broad spectrum, including creation of projects and discovery of issues, preparation and investigation, and both basic and detailed design. Other important responsibilities include selection of subcontracting construction companies and monitoring of construction work progress. Appointed to be engineer for the Karnaphuli Water Supply Project was NJS Consultants Co., Ltd. of Japan, which had experience in offering consulting services to water supply infrastructure projects around the world. It should be noted that it was not mandatory for NJS Consultants to subcontract the construction job of an ODA project to a Japanese company, despite it being funded by a yen loan, and instead a suitable construction company would be determined by a strict and fair international bidding. Thus, NJS Consultants’ task was to examine engineering capabilities and other parameters of construction services bidding from various countries and make a proper assessment.

“In any such project, the single most important thing is to pick a service that offers high engineering expertise and cost performance. Kubota Construction pointed out emphatically that this project would require a very high level of engineering, as pipework with large-diameter pipes involved extreme difficulty. It was also vital for the service to have everything needed to do the job. We, too, felt that Kubota Construction’s engineering technology stood out from the other bidders from various countries. Kubota Construction eventually made a successful bid, and we highly rate their construction work that followed, the progress of which earned our complete confidence.” (Takao Ochiai, Executive Advisor, NJS Consultants Co., Ltd.)