Fire and ire over Kolonnawa fuel tank

• National Procurement Commission raises the credibility of the selected bidder
• Cabinet Approval sought to six storage tanks at Kolonnawa

The Cabinet Approval has been sought to procure, construct and commission six fuel storage tanks at the Kolonnawa Installation of the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd, the Daily Mirror learns.

The Cabinet paper has been submitted by the Highways and Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development Ministry for approval.
The estimated cost for the project is Rs. 2,350 million.

Accordingly, Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (CAPC) and Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) have been appointed by the Department of Public Finance for selection of a suitable party to undertake this project following the Procurement Guidelines.

In the proposal, the Ministry has sought request to award the contract to Indo-East Engineering & Construction (Lanka) Pte. Ltd. at a negotiated price of Rs. 2 billion as per the Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (CAPC) recommendation. 

Meanwhile, the National Procurement Commission (NPC) which has observed all four bids said that it was of the view that the bidder Indo - East Engineering & Construction (Lanka) Pte. Ltd. was not a company registered in Sri Lanka and therefore is not eligible for domestic preference in terms of the Bidding Conditions and hence, does not become the lowest evaluated responsive bidder.

The NPC has said that it was of the view that the lowest evaluated responsive bidder, (Before application of domestic preference) J.P. Mukherji & Association Private Ltd. qualified for the award of contract as recommended by the Procurement Appeal Board (PAB). However, the Ministry has later sought the opinion of the Attorney General over the matter and he has said “….since the Procurement Guidelines mandated the Cabinet of Ministers as the final arbiters in deciding the award of the tender, the Cabinet of Ministers should be apprised of the mattes in order to arrive at an appropriate decision.”

Accordingly, Minister of Highways & Road Development and Petroleum Resources Development Kabir Hashim has sought approval of the Cabinet to award the contract to the Indo East Engineering & Construction (Lanka) Pte. Ltd.

The estimated cost for the project is Rs. 2,350 million