The Nepal Army has inked a deal for the construction of tunnels and bridges along the Kathmandu-Tarai expressway, without heeding a directive from the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to scrap the bidding process.

The House committee on April 1 had directed the Nepal Army to scrap the bidding process after its study showed non-compliance of the procurement law in the pre-qualification process for contractor selection for the second phase of the project, The Kathmandu Post reported.

On May 5, the Army wrote to the committee requesting a review,  arguing that it had followed the due process and that scrapping the bid would delay the project and escalate its cost.

The Army had selected only Poly Changda Engineering Company, Guangzhou China, among the 22 bidders that had applied in the global bidding process. The House committee said it was against the Public Procurement Act-2007 which envisions more than one company to be shortlisted.

It had also pointed out a flaw in the Nepal Army using the terms of the international competitive bidding process to select the companies under the engineering procurement and construction model.

However, the Nepal Army, which is undertaking the construction of the national pride project, signed a deal with the Poly Changda for the construction.

“We have signed the agreement fulfilling all the legal process,” Brigadier General Santosh Ballave Poudyal, the Nepali Army spokesperson, told the Post. “The company will complete designing in six months and complete the construction in next three years.”

He added that along with the Poly Changda, the Nepal Army has signed an agreement with China State Construction Engineering Corp for the construction of the first phase of the tunnel and bridges.

The cost of construction for the first phase and the second phase stands at Rs 15.61 billion and Rs 20.08 billion excluding the value added tax and other contingency expenses.

The Army says it had to forge the deal as it had already issued a letter of intent to the construction company and scrapping the process could lead to legal complications.

The officials at the parliamentary committee said the Army defied the House panel’s directives.

“The Nepal Army signed a contract while its request for the review was pending with the committee,” Roj Nath Pandey, committee secretary, told the Post. “The committee will take the issue seriously.”

He said the amount that will be released to the construction company will be accounted as an arrear which can be recovered from the officials who “bypassed the directives”.

(SAM)