Saif Powertec to operate two more jetties

The Chittagong Port Authority yesterday appointed Saif Powertec as the container handling operator for two more jetties of its New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT).

CPA Chairman Rear Admiral Nizam Uddin Ahmed and Managing Director of Saif Powertec Tarafder Md Ruhul Amin signed the deal yesterday, more than three and a half months after submitting the bid documents.

Of the five bidders, only Saif Powertec was the only company regarded eligible by the tender evaluation committee, officials said. However, the other bidders said the bidding process was unfair, alleging that the tender criteria left no scope for competition and smoothed the way for just one firm to get the job, violating public procurement rules (PPR).

Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, proprietor of Fazle and Sons, a berth operator and also one of the five bidders, said there were three conditions in the tender document that curtailed competition.

The conditions were: applicants needed to have experience in operating a terminal, they had to be Bangladeshi, and also have an annual turnover worth Tk 30 crore.

Such conditions violated the PPR as only Saif Powertec in Bangladesh has experience in operating a terminal, from its experimental operations of Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) and two berths of NCT since 2007, Chowdhury said.

Sources said the rate given by Saif Powertec was Tk 49.87 crore, which was nearly 19 percent higher than the CPA's estimated rate of Tk 41.56 crore, approved by the head of procurement office.

Previously, CPA cancelled a tender and repeated the process as the rate given by the contractor was 9 percent higher than its estimated rate. 

The CPA chairman said three writ petitions were filed with the High Court alleging irregularities in the tender, but the Supreme Court already vacated those, proving the allegations false. 

On May 4, CPA floated two separate tenders to appoint operators for four jetties of NCT. On June 25, CPA appointed Saif Powertec JV (joint venture) with its two partner firms to operate NCT jetty number 4 and 5.