The National Highways Authority of India has completed the review of the qualification exercise for the Hyderabad-Vijayawada project, as recommended by a two-member committee of the ministry of road transport and highways. The NHAI board would finally shortlist the bidders for four-laning of the section on NH-8 on 19th of this month.
?The review process for the Hyderabad-Vijayavada project has been completed. We have sought clarifications from the parties. Their response and clarifications will be placed before the board on nineteenth of this month. Also, the board will finally take a decision on increasing the number of bidders taking into consideration the legal and other aspects,? said N Gokulram, chairman, NHAI.
The qualification exercise for the project, which falls under National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), phase III, came under the scrutiny of the ministry when it received representations against the shortlisted players by NHAI in early July. NHAI had shortlisted Maytas, HCC, GVK, L&T, GMR, and Madhucon. The ministry got representations against the shortlist from Reliance Infrastructure, Macquarie Scurrilities (Asia) and Isolux-Soma-Omaxe consortium. A two-member committee was subsequently set up by the ministry to look into the matter. Owing to procedural delays like these, a number of projects are in limbo.
Post the approval of new Request For Qualification (RFQ) norms by Prime Ministers committee on infrastructure in December 2007, NHAI has been able to take forward only five projects. ?We have invited RFQs for around 60 projects after the clearance of the new norms.
But the contract has been awarded only in one case and request of proposal has been invited for four projects,? said Gokulram. Of these, 44 projects belong to NHDP, phase III, nine of phase V, two of phase II and one miscellaneous, he added.
On the delay, Gokulram said, ?The procedure is completely new. Also, the RFQ document has been amended four to five times since December last year. The volume of information that the bidders are now required to furnish has increased.?