Road transport and highway ministry is considering removing the restriction on the number of qualified bidders for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects in future.
The proposal is being discussed with Planning Commission that is preparing new norms on EPC projects.
The move has been taken after two highway projects in Uttar Pradesh received a lacklustre response from private players last month. At the insistence of Planning Commission, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)–which awards national highway projects in the country?restricted the number of qualified bidders for two EPC projects, together costing Rs 1,217 crore, in Uttar Pradesh to seven. These projects were expansion of highway from Tanda to Rae Bareilly at the cost of Rs 692-crore and Rae Bareilly-Banda stretch at Rs 525-crore.
However when the application for pre-qualification were invited, firms kept a distance from the projects. While one project received seven applications, the second project got 10 applications. Normally upto 50 bidders qualify to submit financial bids for highway expansion projects
?To salvage the loss of interest from developers, we have suggested no restriction should be imposed on pre-qualification of firms in future projects. The ministry agrees to the suggestion,? a senior official in NHAI told FE requesting anonymity.
An official in road ministry said the final decision is expected by the end of November. ?We will have a meeting with senior officials from Planning Commission and finance ministry at the end of this month to discuss the issue. I suppose the matter would be decided at the meeting,? he said. However, the decision is not likely to have any impact on the two projects in Uttar Pradesh. ?The restriction would continue in these projects,? the NHAI official said.
The restriction had irked private developers who felt the clause was against competition and had approached Competition Commission of India in October.
?The government can make changes in networth requirement and other technical grounds. But restricting the number of bidders would be against the objective of promoting competition among companies,? a senior executive of a private highway construction company said.
Earlier, the government had to alter its decision to impose a similar restriction on build, operate and transfer projects on expanding national highways.
