‘Bidders knew winner would bag BAIL works contract too’

‘Bidders knew winner would bag BAIL works contract too’
Deccan Herald

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday said that all bidders of the Bangalore international airport project knew that the consortium which bagged the project would get the construction contract too. Speaking to Deccan Herald about the recommendation of a parliamentary standing committee that there should be an inquiry by an independent agency into the award of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to the consortium partners themselves, Civil Aviation Ministry Secretary Ajai Prasad said it had been decided at the beginning that the successful bidders would get the EPC works too.

“I had appeared before the committee. We had put forward these facts before the panel. The companies like Siemens and Larsen and Toubro (and also Zurich Unique) have been awarded the EPC contract. This was done after a conscious decision by the Karnataka government,” he said.

He added: “We put forward the facts before the committee. The Bangalore project was the first of its kind. This (awarding of the EPC contract to the eventual winners of tender) was the demand raised by all the bidders at the beginning and decision was known to all bidders.”

Asked whether the ministry had formed any opinion on the committee report, Prasad said: “We are studying the committee report. We have to give an answer within three months through the action taken report (ATR). We will be doing so.”

The committee, in its report last week, had criticised the award of EPC contract to the consortium partners, saying the exercise was not transparent. It had called for an inquiry by an independent agency.