News
Tender procedure for 65,000 houses flawed and fraudulent: Chief Opp. Whip
View(s):Chief Opposition Whip JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on Thursday, questioned the tender procedure adopted in awarding the contracts for the construction of 65,000 houses to resettle displaced people in the North.
He alleged that the process lacked transparency and a massive financial fraud had occurred during this tender procedure. He said the cost of a housing unit that had been estimated at Rs 1.2 million, had risen to Rs. 2.1 million subsequently.
The JVP Leader said this amount was questionable, as the cost of a housing unit constructed under the housing project undertaken by India stands at Rs. 550,000, and the cost of a housing unit constructed with EU funds stands at Rs. 650,000.
He queried whether the lowest bidder had been given the contract, adding that separate tenders should have been called for the construction of houses and supply of housing equipment to those houses, adding that it was wrong to merge the two into one tender.
Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation and Hindu Religious Affairs, D.M. Swaminathan in his reply said that Arcelor Mittal Construction France was selected for the construction of the 65,000 houses, as this company was the lowest bidder covering all aspects of the construction.
He said that Arcelor Mittal Construction France had submitted a comprehensive confirmed financing arrangement with an optional package including lower interest, grace period and long term repayment period through the HSBC.
He said the reason for cost increase from Rs. 1.2 million per unit to Rs. 2.1 million was attributed to fluctuation in the US$ exchange rate, and that, the two model houses constructed were well received by the public.