Fresh EoI for tunnel work in couple of days
KATHMANDU, NOV 27 -
The government is calling a fresh expression of interest (EoI) for tunnel construction of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project (MDWP) within the ‘next couple of days’.
After the government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) resolved their differences over advance payment to the contractor on Friday, the deck was cleared for the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board (MWSDB) to go for a fresh EoI. “We will call a fresh EoI within a couple of days,” said Krishna Prasad Acharya, executive director of MWSDB.
ADB, the major donor of the project, gave its approval for the bid document on Sunday.
The project will divert about 170 million litres per day (mld) of water to the Kathmandu valley from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchok district to ease the capital’s chronic water shortage.
Earlier, the government and ADB were at odds over the advance pay modality, with ADB insisting on paying the contractor 25 percent of the contract amount up-front, while the government did not want to go above 20 percent citing restrictions in the Procurement Act. But both sides agreed on limiting the advance payment to 20 percent.
The differences over the pay modality had prevented MWSDB from inviting a fresh EoI for selecting a new contractor. The tender issue had been planned for November 9, with the last date of submission set for Jan 7, 2013. According to MWSDB, the last date of submission will now be pushed to Jan 21, 2013.
After ending its contract with Chinese contractor China Railway 15 Bureau in September, the government rescheduled the completion date of Melamchi project to March 2016. Of the 27.5km tunnel, the Chinese company has dug only 6.5 km.
According to an MWSDB official, ADB has agreed in principle to provide another soft loan for the project. The government has requested ADB for a soft loan worth $30 million to proceed with the remaining tasks. Juan Miranda, director general of ADB’s South Asia Department, also pledged to increase the aid amount to complete the project during his Nepal visit in September.
More than a dozen foreign companies have expressed their interests in continuing the tunnel work. According to MWSDB, seven companies have made site visits to find out the exact status of the project.
Hyundai Constructions and Daelim Industrial Company (South Korea), McComell Dowell (Australia), Larsen and Tourbo, KEC India and Gammon India (India) recently visited the project site.
Other interested companies are Impregilo of Italy, VINCI Construction of France, IL&FS of India, China Water and Engineering of China, and Kyeryong Company of Korea, among other companies from Singapore, Japan and the UK.
In order to speed up the project, MWSDB has made provisions of reward for early completion and penalty for delays, which have been included in the new contract. The reward or penalty would be up to 10 percent of the bid amount.
Since its inception in 2002, the overall construction of the project has continuously been delayed due to a host of problems such as locals’ interference, lack of security, financial constraints and poor contractor performance.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
