- Cabinet decision to secure national interest in awarding tenders
By Rohan Abeywardena
The Government will call fresh bids for the construction of the first terminal of the new Colombo South Harbour next month, Ports Authority Chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said yesterday.
In February this year after much delay and controversy, the Government awarded the contract to Hutchison of Hong Kong to build the first terminal, even though it was only the second highest bidder.
President Rajapaksa, however cancelled the award soon after and announced the decision to call for fresh bids on the basis of a Cabinet decision to secure national interest in awarding tenders in future.
It resulted in the Asian Development Bank automatically putting off funding of US$300 million for the already delayed construction of the breakwater of the new proposed harbour as one of the key conditions it had laid down for financing the project was the transparent awarding of the tender to build the first terminal.
Hyundai Engineering Construction won the tender to build the Colombo South Harbour breakwater with a bid of Rs.36 billion as far back as September last year easily beating the other two bidders Hanjing Heavy Industries and China Harbour Company, who had quoted Rs.76 billion and Rs.61 billion.
In May, however the ADB agreed on an alternate formula to allow the construction of the breakwater with US$300 million in funding from the Bank, without awaiting the transparent and competitive awarding of the contract to build its first terminal as earlier stipulated.
The Ports Authority Chairman assured that there would be no real delay now in awarding the tender for the construction of the First Terminal as in any case work on it could not begin without at least half of the breakwater work being completed as it requires the latter’s protection.
He said the work on the breakwater by Hyundai Engineering Construction was now progressing smoothly with the Korean firm already having dredged more than 1.5 million cubic metres and also having started building access roads.
The South Harbour is expected to consolidate Colombo’s position as a trans-shipment hub for the sub-continent. The South Harbour will eventually have three terminals of 2.4 million TEUs each.
s The ADB is extending the $300 million loan to build the breakwater to be paid back over 25 years with a grace period of five years. |
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