KATHMANDU, JUN 26 -
The high-level panel on the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track road project has submitted a draft of the procurement documents to the government, paving the way for it to proceed with calling for fresh Expressions of Interest (EoI) to build the 76 km expressway.
The panel led by former secretary Birendra Bahadur Deuja handed over the documents to Minister for Planning, Works and Transport Management Hridayesh Tripathi on Monday. The documents include EoI, Request for Proposal (RFP) and Concession Agreement to be signed between the government and the contractor.
Minister Tripathi said that the draft bidding documents would help speed up work on building the long planned road in an efficient way. “We have had bad experiences with regard to procurement for lack of proper preparation,” added Tripathi.
According to the ministry, it will review the draft documents and criteria set by the panel in a week and then invite EoIs before July 9. Earlier, the government had set a target to bring international investors for the project by mid-July this year.
“We will review the drafts and call for EoI from investors based on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) modality,” said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning. He added that since the documents represented the view of experts, they would review the criteria and suggestions based on government requirements.
The government has not been able to invite EoIs and RFPs for the last one year mainly due to a controversy over the criteria set for potential bidders and the assurance to include local investment.
The panel has suggested that the qualification for firms or consortiums proposing to build the four-lane express highway should be experience of building highways and bridges under the BOT system and a minimum net worth of US$ 150 million. Similarly, they are required to have built infrastructure projects worth US$ 1,500 million in the last 10 years.
The requirement stated in the former EoI that was cancelled in March last year was a net worth of at least US$ 150 million and a track record of completing infrastructure projects worth US$ 900 million during the last five years. According to the committee, the government should provide extra points when evaluating the technical and financial proposals of consortiums or joint ventures with Nepali contractors.
The entire work regarding the EoI had come to a halt when the now dissolved parliamentary Public Accounts Committee told the government that there should be local investment of at least 10 percent with the Nepali private sector and non-resident Nepalis showing interest in investing in the project.
“We have recommended to the government to provide extra marks of up to 10 points for the technical proposal and up to 7 points for the financial proposal to firms applying to build this highway,” said Deuja, coordinator of the committee. He added that since the expressway was a “complex project”, government commitment was required for land acquisition, equity support, local permits, understanding of the alignment, its design and readiness to fast track decisions to make it a success.
The government has not been able to acquire land for an 8 km stretch of the proposed highway passing through Khokana, Lalitpur. According to project manager Dinesh Prakash Basnet, land acquisition and distribution of compensation in Makwanpur and Kathmandu would be completed within this fiscal year.
Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/06/26/business/ktm-tarai-fast-track--panel-submits-draft-of-procurement-documents/356183/
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