LDA cancels three tenders of road improvement

LAHORE : Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Engineering Wing has cancelled three tenders of road patchwork and improvement in various LDA schemes allegedly after its management failed to manage the bidders.

Sources in LDA said that the tenders were advertised in different national newspapers some days back against which 13 bid documents were purchased and nine parties submitted their sealed bids. The sources said the batch of tenders contained four different tenders for which nine bids were submitted. They said the bidding process was to start at 10am on Wednesday morning but when the bidders reached the LDA office they found that the LDA has cancelled three out of four tenders while one was retained.

The batch of four tenders included patchwork and management of roads in LDA Avenue-1 Scheme (Rs 54.175 million), rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged roads in Block K and Main Boulevard of LDA Avenue-1, Scheme (Rs 51.511 million), rehabilitation and improvement of streets and drainage in UC-231 and UC 242, Shama Colony (Rs 45.139 million) and addition/alteration of official residence number 46, New Garden Town Lahore (Rs 15.840 million).

Sources in LDA claimed that these tenders were called by former Chief Engineer LDA Habib-ur-Rahman Randhawa who was repatriated from his post recently on the charges of not ensuring implementation of the timeline of under-construction Firdous Market underpass.

One of the contractors seeking anonymity said that as per PAPRA rules the LDA can’t cancel selected tenders of a same batch. He said if the LDA wanted to cancel the tenders, it should have cancelled the entire batch.

He said when the contractors reached the office of Chief Engineer LDA where sealed bids were to open on Wednesday they found a notice of tender cancellation on a notice board.

The notice read, “Tenders invited for the following works submitted on 02.11.2020 in newspapers are hereby cancelled due to pre-occupation of Tender Opening Committee and new dates of invitation of bids for the tenders will be given later.” The cancelled tenders included patchwork and management of roads in LDA Avenue-1 Scheme (Rs 54.175 million), rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged roads in Block K and Main Boulevard of LDA Avenue-1, Scheme (Rs 51.511 million) and rehabilitation and improvement of streets and drainage in UC-231 and UC 242, Shama Colony (Rs 45.139 million). He said another tender for improvement/carpeting of roads in Block H and N Sabzazar Rabbani Masjid Road from LOS Road to Poonch Road roundabout Arya Nagar, Tipu Road Ittehad Colony and providing /laying RCC slab and tuff paver at Second Round About, Samanabad Lahore was also cancelled.

He alleged that this tender was cancelled as the LDA management wanted to ‘accommodate’ one of the blue eyed contractors of a provincial minister but other bidders participated in it and the engineering wing failed to ‘manage’ it. Contractors working with LDA and TEPA often raised complaints that bidding process in LDA was not transparent and blue-eyed contractors were given work and in case other contractors participate in the tenders those tenders were cancelled on different pretexts. Contractors demanded the NAB and Anti-Corruption Establishment take notice of this issue and seek record of cancelled tenders from LDA and TEPA.

They also claimed that in several tenders, construction work was already completed on the ground and tenders were issued to only fill the files.

LDA’s Chief Engineer Abdul Razzaq while talking to The News said the tenders were cancelled due to pre-occupation of tender opening committee. He said he was attending a meeting in the office of VC LDA at the tender opening time. On a question why one of the tenders from the batch of four tenders was not cancelled, he said there were some problems in the three tenders so they were cancelled. To another question, he said all rules and regulations were followed in cancellation of these tenders and allegations levelled by contractors were baseless.