Descon awarded contract as per rules

By our correspondents

ISLAMABAD: Office of the adviser to prime minister on Commerce and industry in a statement on Wednesday said that Razaq Dawood founded and headed Descon Engineering Limited, as he did several other business ventures.

When asked to serve the present government, Dawood fully disclosed all his business associations to the prime minister and to ensure transparency and avoid conflict of interest, he resigned from all these associations before joining the cabinet. His disclosure and resignations were provided in writing to the prime minister with the request that these be fully shared with the cabinet.

The disclosure had also identified the Mohmand Dam Project for which Descon had already bid before Abdul Razak Dawood joined the cabinet. The prime minister felt that this pending project should not prevent Dawood from joining the cabinet. In fact, the prime minister made a strong plea for the services of the adviser for commerce, textile, industries & production and investment.

On joining the cabinet, the adviser has totally distanced himself from his former business interests and has scrupulously observed and implemented all requirements of transparency and avoidance of conflict of interest. There has been no departure whatsoever from this ethic.

So far as the Mohmand Dam Project is concerned, invitation to bids was floated by Wapda on 23 November 2017 in accordance with International Competitive Bid (‘ICB’) prequalification, single stage, two envelop procedure. Descon submitted its bid in joint venture with China Gezhouba with 30% participating interest on 26 June 2018. As per the rules, technically qualified bidders were entitled for the financial bid opening and CGGC- Descon JV was the qualified bidder. It is for Wapda to comment on the bidding process leading to the successful bidder with its extensive experience in tendering for projects in and outside Pakistan, the Mohmand Dam bids arranged by Wapda were processed as fully compliant with national and internationally-accepted (‘ICB’) bidding procedures, concluded the statement.

Meawnhile, Minister of Water Resources Faisal Vawda told the media during a press conference that the bidding process was completed and the contract was awarded to the company prior to the PTI government.

He said, “Due to the negative propaganda of some people, work on Mohmand Dam was not started, but now it is being started and the project will be completed before its due time.” Just like the previous regimes the present government is not going to do the inauguration again and again, said the minister.

The minister said that all the hurdles had been removed and now the project was going to be materialised.

The minister further said that no favouritism was done in awarding contract. He said that speculative comments about the contract were totally baseless as the entire process had been undertaken with utmost transparency and without any favour or fear. Vawda said that neither Wapda, nor any minister can award contract to any company without following the rules and regulations. He said that the contract was awarded after technically evaluations by neutral experts.

Earlier, Wapda Chairman Muzamil Hussain also addressed a press conference in Islamabad.

Hussain said that two joint ventures were shortlisted for the final stage wherein the technical bid of the joint venture (JV) of FWO and China Power was found non-responsive. However, the technical bid offered by the China Gezhouba and Descon was found responsive which is why its financial bid was entrained.

When asked if awarding of the project to Descon is an example of conflict of interests as owner of Descon is currently adviser to PM, the Wapda chairman said that invitation to bids was floated by Wapda on November 23, 2017, and in accordance with international competitive bidding (ICB) prequalification, single stage two envelope procedure was followed.