The government is on the lookout for a new contractor to run operations at Kamlapur inland container depot (ICD) in Dhaka after canceling the controversial agreement with Global Agro Trade Company (GATCO), reports bdnews24. com from Chittagong.
The agreement with GATCO will stand cancelled from the day the new contractor runs the affairs at the Kamalapur ICD, said Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Chairman M Faruque Sunday.
The CPA chairman said the plan might be implemented 'in a couple of months.' He said a pre-bid meeting with the interested parties, set for July 7 at the Bandar Bhaban, would discuss the terms and conditions of the new agreement.
The tenders will be floated on July 20 in presence of the bidders, the chairman said. The two pre-bid meetings had earlier been cancelled because of cases pending with court, he said.
A CPA official involved in the bidding process said some 30 firms had turned in bids until Thursday, quoting prices for the job.
The CPA chief said the GATCO deal was scrapped on March 2, 2007 on charges of inefficiency and breach of contract. CPA invited fresh bids on April 25, 2007.
The move prompted GATCO, which had been awarded a seven-year contract, to get a court order that froze the new tendering process, he said.
The court in May this year, however, ruled that the cancellation of the GATCO deal had been right, clearing way for the search of a new contractor.
Faruque added that firms bidding for a deal this time were far greater in number than the previous occasion. He said GATCO was nonetheless allowed to handle ICD until a new contractor took over the charge of the depot.
Under the new arrangement, no organisation will be given a longstanding contract, and some stringent terms and conditions will also be added to the existing ones, Faruque said.
The new terms and conditions make it mandatory for the bidder to be able to buy new equipment for handling containers, and have at least 10 years' experience in the relevant work.
In case the bids were not competitive or fell short of the lowest minimum acceptable rates, the CPA will consider fresh bidding, the chairman said, adding GATCO may also come and participate as a bidder in the new bid, if it fulfils the eligibility criteria.
The CPA can execute a contract worth Tk 240 million, but the ministry and the cabinet committee on public purchase will intervene for a deal beyond the amount, he added.
GATCO was awarded the contract during the BNP-Jamaat coalition government's rule through bending the rules. Former prime minister Khaleda Zia and five of her cabinet ministers are facing trial on charges of corruption over the scam.
