Decision on consultant for JBIC water project will be taken soon
By Jays Jacob | 17 Dec 2002
Thiruvananthapuram: A final decision on the consultant for the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)-aided Rs 1,870-crore drinking water project for five districts in Kerala will be taken jointly by the state government and the bank, says Chief Minister A K Antony.
The three companies on the final list, approved by the cabinet on 16 December, and earlier by the tender committee and the Kerala Water Authority, are Tech Consortium (Tokyo Engineering Consultants), PCI (Pacific Consultants International) and MOT NJS Consortium.
The consultant will get 10 per cent of the estimated cost of the project. The project seeks to augment water supply in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Cherthala, Pattuvam, Meenad and their adjoining areas, thus benefiting 4.5 million people.
Asked for the reason behind the PCI being selected again, Antony says the list was prepared after detailed scrutiny by various panels. “We will send the list to the JBIC shortly. The bank is being informed of all the developments in connection with the project. A final decision will be taken jointly.”
PCI was not included in the initial list of short-listed consultants during the former Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s tenure; it was drafted into the final list and later selected as consultant for the project.
The United Democratic Front (UDF), then in the Opposition, raised allegations of irregularities against the then government and said that then chief minister E K Nayanar’s son-in-law had played a key role in the “illegal” selection of PCI as consultant. This forced the LDF government to decide, in September 2000, on fresh global tenders.
But when the UDF assumed power, it did a U-turn and decided to go ahead with PCI as the consultant “to avoid delay in completion of the project.” Now, it was the turn of the LDF to object vehemently. This led to the government decision to abandon the project altogether.
Six months ago, the Antony government decided to float fresh global tenders for selecting the project consultant. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project was signed as early as in February 1997, during the LDF rule, between the central government and the OECF (now JBIC). As per the MoU, the project has to be completed before June 2006.