The CCCI executive committee decided to call fresh international tender to 'make the previously expensive project more economical and transparent'.

The decision came at the first board meeting of the new committee on Wednesday with its President Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed in the chair. The meeting also formed a 10-member sub committee in this connection.

"We have discussed, evaluated at length the pros and cons of the WTC project in the meeting and found the Tk 215-crore project taken by past committee highly expensive, ambitious and not favourable for the interest of this chamber," Senior Vice-president SM Nurul Haque told The Daily Star over phone.

But the move might cause 'unpleasant conflict' between the CCCI members and the business community, observed some business leaders.

Former CCCI president Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury talking to this correspondent on Wednesday found no 'clear logic' in cancelling the 'outright' past tenders and other procedures.

"The new committee decision bears no logic at a time when we (our committee) have moved so close to start the much-awaited project," he said adding "We have already completed lot of ground works regarding the WTC."

Amir Humayun said the project required at least eight permissions from different departments concerned including Chittagong Metropolitan Police, Power Development Board, City Corporation, Chittagong Development Authority and Department of Environment, and the previous committee did all these.

"Besides, we also have gone through all the formalities regarding land registration, mutation, appointment of consultant, tender bidding and tender designing during our tenure and it is unfortunate that despite all these works being done, the new committee took the move," he further said.

Another former president Farid Ahmad Chowdhury supports the new committee's decision saying the previous tender had many shortcomings besides being 'too expensive' and the new committee, as he believes, is trying to lessen the cost.

He suggested that the new committee reduce the project cost and appoint an expert who will be highly competent and honest as the project director of the WTC. He, however, believes the WTC project can be built at a cost of Tk 150-crore or less.