Rules ‘violated’ in dredging tender

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has sought an explanation from the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) on “non-implementation of rules and regulations” on a complaint on the tender for dredging (cleaning) work at the Karachi Port.

International marine contractor Van Oord had filed a complaint that KPT did not issue a technical evaluation report on the issue of awarding tender for dredging of coastal area of the port. The KPT awarded the tender without giving the seven-day air gap, it said. The PPRA directed the KPT chairman to implement rules and regulations and submit a report by today (November 29). The Karachi Port Trust had issued a tender for dredging the sea up to 16 kms deep in the Tipu Sultan Channel and South Wharf Basin on the coast of Karachi and dumping waste material in an area of 8 kms from fairway.

Four international companies qualified technically. These included Dutch company Van Oord Marine & Contractor BV, Belgium’s Jan De Nul, UAE’s NDMC and China’s China Harbor Engineering Company.

The KPT qualified the tender of China’s China Harbor Company without giving the other three companies a seven-day air gap after technical evaluation. The six-member sub-committee and the departmental tender committee, however, did not agree. The committee recommended Van Oord as a qualified company, but KPT qualified China Harbour Engineering Company technically.

The complainant company said the KPT announced the result of technical evaluation on the same day as the date of opening of financial proposals on October 14. This is a violation of rules because it did not give the complainant bidding company an opportunity to file a complaint before the Grievance Committee (GRC), the complainant argued. The PPRA directed the results of the bid should be announced stating clearly whether the bid has been accepted or rejected.

The Karachi Port Trust had issued a tender on July 14 and 15 for dredging the Tipu Sultan Channel and South Channel Wharf Basin at Karachi Port up to a depth of 16 kms. The project is to be completed in 120 days. Initially, 13 local and international companies offered bidding proposals.