Fresh tenders to be floated for DPR on Mekedatu project

Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd (CNNL), which had floated global tenders for the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) for the Mekedatu drinking water project last year, has decided to float fresh tenders.

Reason: the sole participant - Wapcos Limited, New Delhi, a government of India undertaking - is said to have quoted a “very high” price.

According to officials, Wapcos has sought Rs 22.07 crore to prepare the DPR for the drinking water project. Following this, the tender scrutiny committee of CNNL has indicated to the Water Resources department that the quotation was on the higher side and had advised it to reject it. CNNL feels that a fresh ‘short-term tender’ should be floated.

The final decision, however, rests with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is the chairperson of the CNNL board.

Though the budget provision made by the government for the preparation of DPR is Rs 25 crore, officials said the proposal was not being considered as it wasn’t technically and economically viable. In addition to this, negotiations with Wapcos had not yielded results.

Officials in the Water Resources department said the global tender was floated on October 25, 2014. Owing to long-drawn procedure, Wapcos submitted its proposal last week. The technical and the financial bids that were opened last week are presently under evaluation.

While the last date to collect the Request for Proposal was July 9, the prequalified consultants were supposed to submit their proposal by August 5.

Less than 6 months
Under the present tender booklet, the participant was given six months to prepare the DPR. If the government decides to reject the same and float a short-term tender, then the bidder who gets qualified will be asked to submit the DPR in “less than six months”.

Terming it a Catch-22 situation, officials said that it was a tough call to make, given the fact that there were no other interested parties. This, in addition to the urgency associated with the execution of the project. They conceded that restarting the tender procedure would mean further delay.

Wapcos, which is an international consultant in water resources, power and infrastructure development, comes under the Ministry of Water Resources.