Kathmandu, Apr. 26: Nepali Army has pushed forward the procurement process for the construction of the two tunnels of the Kathmandu-Terai/Madhes Fast Track (KTFT) road project.
Publishing a notice of letter of intent (LoI) in the Gorkhapatra Daily on Sunday, the NA has said that the Project Office will very soon conclude the tender process after it finalises the international companies to take the tunnel and bridge construction works ahead.
The Fast Track Office’s notice was published today at a time when the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Federal Parliament on April 1 had directed to cancel the second phase contract bidding citing irregularities in the procurement process.
According to the Army Headquarters, now both the contracts will be signed together.
According to the LoI, the cost of these two packages is Rs. 43.883 billion according to the dollar exchange rate set by the Nepal Rastra Bank on Sunday.
For the second phase of the international contract bidding (ICB) agreement, the LoI was published in the name of Poly Changa Engineering Company Ltd. when the company proposed the lowest bidding rate of Rs. 25.02 billion, excluding the VAT amount, to construct 1.37 km tunnel and some bridges that lie in from Dhedrekhola to Lanedanda.
The tender of the first phase project, which was awarded to China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd., had already been confirmed at the lowest bidding amount of Rs. 18.73 billion.
The KTFT had published a notice on February 16 for the selection of the companies eligible to work in two packages of the tunnels and bridges. Of the 43 companies participating in the pre-qualification (PQ) for tunnel construction, two companies were selected in the first construction package and only one in the second package.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation China and Poly Chanda Engineering Company were selected for the first package. Only Poly Chanda Engineering Company China was selected for the second package.
Army spokesperson and Brigadier General Shantosh Ballave Poudyal said that the parliamentary committee had given instructions to the government and the army furnished its clarification to the Ministry of Defence.
“The Ministry of Defence had asked us about the directive of the parliamentary committee. We have responded to it,” he said. “We have not received any such further notice regarding the reason to cancel the bidding from the government,” Poudyal clarified.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the Minister of Defence, had expressed dissatisfaction over the directive given by the PAC on April 3.
The KTFT Office is taking these two tunnels under Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model.
Bharat Kumar Shah, president of the PAC, said that the Auditor General could take action even if the army did not abide by the directives of the Committee. Talking to The Rising Nepal, Shah said, “Even if the army disobeys now, the Auditor General’s Office will point out the mistake,” he said.
– The Rising Nepal
