Punjab’s Saaf Pani project behind schedule

LAHORE: Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC) initiative to provide potable water has been delayed due to a foreign company’s manoeuvring to reengage in the Rs121 billion bidding of the first phase, The News learnt on Monday.

The entire process of awarding the contract for provision of ‘Saaf Pani’ (potable water) has been marred by lingering procedural delays coupled with the manoeuvring of a foreign blue-eyed company, scuttling Punjab government’s efforts to kick start major work on this initiative.

Owing to inordinate delay in awarding the contract for the first phase by PSPC, work on the second and third phases has also been deferred, virtually stalling efforts to complete a major chunk of this project before the next elections, sources said.

Had the contracts been awarded for the first phase smoothly, the process for the three phases of the project, having an outlay of about Rs300 billion, could have been completed by October 2016, as per set target, the sources added.

However, after the prequalification process of the first phase completed, the abrupt exit of a European company from technical and financial bidding disrupted the entire project. The PSPC had invited the bids for the first phase back in May 2016. Sources claim that some officials were now bent upon reengaging the European entity, thus delaying the process.

The PSPC is a government-owned entity, which was established in 2014 with mandate to ensure provision of potable water in the rural belt of the province. As per a survey, majority of drinking water samples found in rural areas were unfit for drinking, whereas contaminated groundwater has also been a major cause of fatal waterborne diseases among the masses.

Kashif Padhiyar, Chairman, Board of PSPC, and member provincial assembly, said appointment of the consultant had been delayed, which slowed down the contract awarding process. He added that the evaluation of bids for phase one is expected to be completed by the first week of November.

However, he denied having any information on reengaging the European company in the bidding process. He added:“As soon as we get evaluation of the consultant, we will be able to award the contract.”

Col (retd) Shah Rukh, general manager at the PSPC, accepted there were delays in project execution. “Delay is due to incomplete evaluation work by the German consultant,” he added.

“We expect that evaluation of bids will be completed in the next couple of weeks, and the whole process of awarding the contract will be done in November 2016. We are confident that the first phase of the project will be fully implemented by the end of 2017.”

He said delays would not be a problem, as “any additional time spent on streamlining the contract awarding process would ultimately payback in terms of sustainability of this project and its quality of work.”

Referring to the alleged efforts of reengaging a European firm in the first phase, he said the company was welcome to participate in the remaining components of the project.

Nevertheless, the working of the PSPC has been slow on various fronts, claimed sources. Sources said the company wasted considerable time in designing the components of the project, later realising that engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode would be a better option.

After successfully implementing the pilot project, the PSPC set a target for large-scale launching of the project in May 2016.

As per the initial plan, bids were invited for Phase-1 for 14 EPC contracts; worth Rs121 billion (35 Tehsils) in mid-May 2016. The last date was June 17, 2016.

“The delay in execution of the first phase has virtually derailed the whole project mainly due to inefficient management practices and habit of working on some-ones sweet will,” sources said.

The advertisement for Phase-2 was scheduled to be given by mid-June 2016 and its last date was to be set in mid-July 2016. Similarly, the advertisement for Phase-3 was scheduled for August 2016 and its last date was to be set by the first week of September 2016.

Work on both the 2nd and 3rd phases could not be launched. Sources said failure to complete the process of awarding the contract for the first phase in last five months has dragged bidding of remaining two phases far behind the schedule.

“On the other hand, there was a perception among successful Chinese companies that the blue-eyed European company was being unfairly favoured at the cost of the project, which was envisaged to create a paradigm shift in the public health sector in Punjab,” sources said.

Further, they added, that one or two senior level bureaucrats, who have ties with Europe, now stand behind the machinations of the foreign company, without realising or considering the tremendous damage such orchestrations could cause to the reputation of the Punjab government.

The uncertainty in the project outcome is causing severe doubts amongst the successful bidders of the technical phase, including the Chinese companies.

These companies already incurred millions of rupees on the bidding process. It has been assumed that on an average, a company spent in excess of Rs10 million per project during the bidding process. The costs include preparation of Bid Bonds, geotechnical surveys, travelling, boarding and lodging, local registrations, printing and publishing, staff, and advisory, the sources added.

As this high profile project, in which a bunch of globally-acclaimed Chinese companies have also been involved, falls into doldrums, fears loom it would severely shake the confidence of the foreign investors.  “It can surely hurt sentiments of state-owned Chinese enterprises and possibly also the Chinese government, investing in the CPEC projects,” sources said.