Tendering debacle at KFH

That Karachi Fish Harbour rehabilitation and renovation project has failed to attract enough bidders for the purchase of machinery and equipment in seven categories, has been revealed in a Recorder Report. Quoting sources, it has pointed out that the government has to complete the project before June 2009, so as to be in a position of convincingly assuring EU that its phytosanitary standards are being complied with at the harbour.
According to it, Sindh government floated tenders of Rs 121.900 million for the procurement of machinery and equipment in 12 categories for handling fish harbour operations under the ADP 2007-08, with notices published in the national dailies twice and once in a Dubai-based newspaper to invite interested parties.
However, purchase order of approximately Rs 17 million for two categories, including 50 stainless steel hydraulic and six battery operated forklift trucks, is reported to have been duly issued, inadequate number of bidders appeared for the purchase of 2,000 insulated plastic containers of 100 litres capacity, eight air curtains, one crate washing machine, eight electrically operated jib cranes, six walk behind sweeper equipment for floor cleaning, two fully equipped patrol boats with double hull unsinkable and two trash-sucking machines.
However, as the news report under reference has noted, the scrutiny process of the bidders' quotation for 10,000 plastic fish crates, 400 plastic pallets and 27 on-board flake ice plants of 1,000-kg per day ice capacity is under way and the government will soon take a decision in the matter. More to this, it said that the PC-I under the Scheme No 77 for rehabilitation and renovation of Karachi Fish Harbour, which the government approved in the annual development programme (ADP) 2007-08, is valid till 2008-09, thereby, implying that the project which has run into trouble can be salvaged, with prompt enabling measures.
Again, according to officials of the Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA), the only stumbling block in the completion of the project is the lack of the specified number of bidders, which stands lowest at three, as against two who have responded to the tender. Of course, where there is a will, the prospects of finding a way are very much there.
The predicament, as such, can be attributed basically to the traditional red-tapism in government departments and which seems to have managed to disregard all the reforms introduced during past several years.
In so far as the present government is concerned, it has yet to settle down properly to attend to the need for unburdening itself from the plethora of problems inherited from errors and omissions of its predecessors. Needless to point out, it can overcome the dilemma by taking recourse to re-float the tenders or any workable alternative.