Awami League Leader’s Firm Bags Tk 60 Crore in DNCC Contracts

The influence of Awami League leaders and activists in various state institutions has not diminished even after the fall of the Awami League government. Despite the political change, they continue to exert influence over important projects and contract work at different institutions. A company linked to Awami League leader Farid Ahmed has secured contracts worth around Tk 60 crore from the waste management department of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

The company is Utopia Construction and Engineering Limited. The total contract value of its three packages is Tk 60 crore 58 lakh 33 thousand.

DNCC’s waste management department carries out important services through private contractors, including street sweeping, drain cleaning and transporting collected waste to the Aminbazar landfill. On May 5, the department invited tenders for these services, dividing 26 wards into six packages. Utopia Construction and Engineering Limited secured three of the packages.

One package covers Ward No. 1 under Zone 1 and Wards 51 to 54 under Zone 6. The contract is worth Tk 24 crore 33 lakh 79 thousand. The company also secured a package worth Tk 17 crore 9 lakh 95 thousand covering Wards 19 and 20 under Zone 3. Another package, worth Tk 19 crore 14 lakh 59 thousand, covers Wards 47 to 50 under Zone 7 and Wards 44 to 46 under Zone 8. The total contract value of the three packages is Tk 60 crore 58 lakh 33 thousand.

According to information, Farid Ahmed was a member of the executive committee of the Dhaka Metropolitan North Awami League. He has long been involved in contracting business with DNCC. During the Awami League government’s tenure, he secured contracts worth at least Tk 83 crore under the name of Multi Waste Management between 2021 and 2024, within four years of establishing the company in 2020.

The trade licence of Utopia Construction and Engineering Limited is now registered in the name of Farid Ahmed’s wife, Ramiha Ahmed, who is the company’s chairman. Farid Ahmed serves as its managing director.

Farid Ahmed owns 60 per cent of Utopia, while his wife owns the remaining 40 per cent. However, to keep themselves away from the company’s operations, the leader has delegated administrative authority to its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Abubakar Siddique.

Farid Ahmed first removed his wife’s name from the trade licence and had it issued in the name of an official of the company. Later, the licence was again registered in his wife’s name. The official was also authorised to sign tender documents and contracts and carry out e-GP activities.

After taking various steps to conceal his ownership and involvement, the Awami League leader became active in business again under a new name. The three waste management contracts secured by Utopia mainly involve street sweeping, drain cleaning and transporting waste to the landfill. Allegations have been raised that the company embezzles money by employing fewer workers than required under the contracts and paying them lower wages.

DNCC outsources street sweeping, drain cleaning and waste transportation to the Aminbazar landfill in 26 wards through private contractors. On May 5, the corporation’s waste management department invited tenders for these services, dividing the wards into six packages. Utopia Construction and Engineering Limited secured three of them.

After the fall of the Awami League government in the mass uprising on August 5, 2024, Farid Ahmed took various steps to conceal his identity and involvement, starting by removing his name from the company’s trade licence. On August 19, two weeks after the government’s fall, an application was submitted to issue the trade licence in the name of his wife, Ramiha Ahmed, the company’s chairman, instead of his own name.

At different times, the trade licence was registered in his wife’s name, changed to the name of a company official and eventually restored to his wife’s name.

On April 12 last year, an application was submitted to change the name on Utopia’s trade licence from Ramiha Ahmed to CEO Abubakar Siddique. Farid Ahmed, the managing director, himself attended the board meeting whose minutes were attached to the application.

On May 17, another application was submitted to change the trade licence from Abubakar Siddique’s name back to Ramiha Ahmed’s. The licence remains registered in the name of Farid’s wife. However, according to the minutes of the latest board meeting, CEO Abubakar Siddique and Manager Shaheen Alam have been authorised to handle and sign all company documents, including tenders, contracts and e-GP activities, keeping the actual owners out of sight.

In 2021, Farid’s company secured four contracts, all involving waste management in different zones of DNCC. The work included recruiting workers for street sweeping and drain cleaning and transporting waste to the landfill. The combined value of the four contracts was Tk 37 crore 16 lakh 31 thousand.

Most of the company’s other contracts also involved supplying workers or personnel. Such arrangements allow contractors to embezzle money by deploying fewer workers than required and paying them lower wages.

Among the contracts secured by Farid’s Multi Waste Management, the company received a contract worth around Tk 6.5 crore in 2022 for waste collection in Zones 3 and 5. In 2024, it secured a contract worth Tk 7 crore for collecting special waste in Zones 2 and 4. In 2023, it received a contract worth around Tk 2.25 crore for cleaning the Sutibhola and Satar kul canals.

In 2023, Farid’s Multi Waste Management also secured a contract to supply workers for mosquito control activities. The contract was worth around Tk 28.5 crore.

Farid’s company also secured four contracts from the mechanical wing of DNCC’s engineering department. In 2022, it received another contract worth Tk 19 lakh to supply batteries and machinery parts to the mechanical wing.

A DNCC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were allegations of links between Farid Ahmed’s company and some officials and engineers of the corporation’s waste management department and the mechanical wing of its engineering department. Several officials and employees of the corporation are aware of the matter, the official added.

DNCC Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan told the media that he was unaware of Utopia’s ownership. He said the matter would be investigated and legal action taken in accordance with the rules if any such connection was found.

He said the e-GP system does not contain information about company owners’ political identities or their involvement in other offences. The system primarily assesses companies’ eligibility for tenders. Whether a company is considered responsive or non-responsive is determined through the e-GP process, and he has no involvement in that decision.

Utopia secured the contracts because it was considered eligible, he said, adding that there had been no irregularities in the tender process.