Purchase Committee meeting on Bibiyana project deferred
November 17, 2008
A meeting of the Advisors Committee on Public Purchase that was convened to take decision on awarding the 450-MW Bibiyana Power Plant contract to a Malaysia-based company was Sunday deferred by three days. According to official sources, the committee, known as Cabinet Purchase Committee, will now sit on November 19.
The meeting was scheduled to be held at the Chief Adviser’s Office. But, at the eleventh hour, the meeting was deferred, an official of the Cabinet Division told UNB.
He, however, could not explain why the meeting was deferred.
Earlier, the same committee had a meeting about a month back to take decision on the project.
But the committee, instead of taking decision, sent the proposal back to the Power Division for further review of the power tariffs quoted by the foreign company, Powertek Berhad.
The Powertek, a lone bidder for the Bibiyana project, the largest independent power producer (IPP) plant planned in recent years, offered electricity price at 4.539 US cents per kilowatt- hour, which was found to be much higher than the rate offered for a similar-capacity project set up at Meghnaghat.
But, after the committee’s directive, the Powertek again reduced the rate by 0.20 US cents to 4.339 cents.
After this reduction, the Power Division again placed it to the Cabinet Division to decide.
Sources said normally any government does not prefer any single offer in any bidding process for the sake of proper competition.
“That’s why the government is taking much time to take a decision on the matter,” said a Power Division official.
“In case of single bidding, it is difficult to judge the proper value of the offer,” he added.
Source: The New Nation
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