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AUW Campus Center Construction Update

Posted on April 15, 2022

Written by AUW

Dear AUW Friends,

I am pleased to report that the Asian University for Women (AUW)  will cause construction of its flagship Campus Center next month (May).

This Campus Center, designed by our Master Planner, Moshe Safdie and Associates, will be a microcosm of the whole campus, offering state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, tiered lecture halls, cafeteria, faculty offices, student lounges, library, computing centers, and so on, surrounded by the serenity of the unusual greenery and quiet of our campus area.

A competitive tender process was undertaken with our Vice Chancellor Dr. Rubana Huq leading it.  She was supported by the Project Construction Director Retired Brigadier General Salahuddin and outside consultants.  Tender evaluation followed the customary steps of first completing an independent assessment of the technical and financial strength of each bidding contractor followed by a review of the proposed financial costs of construction.  Our long-time pro bono legal counsel of Mayer Brown is assisting with the final contract drafting and negotiations. Actual workforce mobilization and the beginning of construction work are expected to start in mid-May after the end of the Ramadan and  Eid holidays.

The following five local contractors have bid for the construction projects:

In the interest of full transparency, all bidding documents (including the executed contract) will be publicly available from AUW website.  AUW is privileged to have two Ombudspersons — Professor  Saad Andaleeb, former BRAC University Vice Chancellor and Professor of Business Management and Professor Firdous Azim, Professor of English at BRAC University.  Any complaints on any aspect of the construction project could be filed with either of the Ombudspersons or with the Secretary of the Board of Trustees Ms. Lynne Anne Davis.

We will build a wonderful campus, no doubt.  We  hope that even the construction of the campus will trigger changes in the values and approaches that ordinarily govern these practices.  We will be transparent.  We will be accountable.  We will insist on the best ethical standards in terms of safety and equal pay for equal work and in ensuring that at least half of the workforce on the project are women.

 

We invite you to visit our website www.asian-university.org/campus construction for regular updates on (i) procurement; (ii) vendor payments; (iii) construction progress reports from the consultants; and other relevant topics.

This is a big leap forward for AUW.  We are grateful for all who have enabled us to come thus far.

With best wishes,

Sincerely,

 

Kamal Ahmad

Founder

Asian University for Women