Foreign firms oppose Saaf Pani deal’s scrapping

LAHORE: Foreign companies, which won contracts to install water treatment plants in the rural areas of Punjab, on Thursday expressed dismay over the scraping of the deal by the provincial government, saying this step would discourage investors as well as increase projects’ cost. 

The provincial government scrapped the entire bidding process of Saaf Pani Project. Foreign firms said that their ‘intense’ preparation, involving millions of dollars, proved to be a futile exercise. 

Representatives of foreign companies said that they had participated in the Saaf Pani project at the invitation of the Punjab government. They said that they were proactively involved in the whole process. “We were shocked to learn that the project was scrapped, hurting the hard earned trust of the investors,” said a representative.

Foreign companies said the project scrapping could force their management to resort to the legal options. They said the bidding process was transparent. A foreign consultant also validated the whole contract awarding process, they added.

Foreign firms dispelled the impression that bid prices were too high. In contrast, they said, most of the bid prices were very competitive if compared with the projects, which were completed in other developing countries. They said cost of the Saaf Pani project could substantially be increased if the bidding was reinitiated. 

A representative said deliberations on the key issues, during a meeting held in Beijing on December 28,  were on done at length, “and abrupt option of show of hands for ascertaining the opinion of participants was not very much appropriate.” 

“We regret that successful companies were not fully given the chance of elaborating their point of view.”  Representatives of Chinese companies said low-priced bids should have been accepted and such companies are allowed to execute project as per the bidding process. Moreover, high priced bids could be cancelled in order to further reduce the project cost, they said. Such approach will help in reducing the project cost, besides strengthening the government reputation, they said.  Chinese companies would offer further price reduction by up to 10 percent if local material could be allowed to source various segments of project.