General Capabilities

In many of the developing countries where overwhelming part of the population is dependent on agriculture for living, rural development is the key to the country's economic development. BCL has been active in rural infrastructural development, both physical and social, for over 20 years. The services have covered planning and design of rural roads, small scale flood control, drainage and irrigation projects, rural electrification, agro-forestry, non-formal education, non-farm income generation, poverty alleviation program including providing skill training and credit program. Projects in this sector have often involved a multi-disciplinary integrated program and labour-intensive construction. BCL's experience in the latter spans over 30 years.

This is a new area of service for the company and has developed since the mid 1980s. The experience in this sector has included integrated development projects in flood control, drainage and irrigation and often been linked to rural development. BCL has also provided extensive service in erosion-control and bank protection of major rivers.

This sector started in 1986 with the provision of design and supervision of the electrical and mechanical utilities of the firm's A-E projects. Gradually it has diversified into transmission and distribution and, more recently, into generation. Services have been provided both in Bangladesh and outside. Rural electrification has been an area of particular interest to the firm and fits in with its overall emphasis on the delivery of integrated rural development services.

BCL provides comprehensive services from socio-economic surveys and mapping to land use/ physical planning and documentation. Detailed architectural planning and design are provided for urban renewal projects and housing development. The firm also has considerable experience in resettlement and rehabilitation of project affected persons.

Services in this sector cover from preparation of pre-investment studies to detailed engineering. The firm's experience has included marketing studies, financial and economic studies, planning and detailed engineering of industrial estates, factory buildings and utilities, selection of plant and machinery, supervision of construction and inspection, testing and commissioning of plant, machinery and equipment Also assistance is provided in recruiting and training of operating staff and setting up maintenance schedules and procedures.

BCL, from its very early days, has laid major emphasis on development of skill and expertise through training - first to its own employees and, since mid 1980s, to a variety of development agencies. The services include identification and definition of training needs, preparation of training materials and programs, training of trainers and management of training projects. these effort and services are now planned, coordinated and administered by a specially set up in-house facility called CenTR.