A consortium of three international dredging companies, recently penalised by the CCP with Rs 50 million each for alleged cartelisation to influence price of the dredging project at Port Qasim has challenged the Commission's decision in a court of law.
According to sources, Dredging International (DI), Jan De Nul (JDN) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) have moved a petition in Sindh High Court against the punitive decision of Competition Commission of Pakistan. They said that two members of the consortium, CHEC and JDN, had, in their respective pleas, also nominated Port Qasim Authority as a party to the case.
Sources told Business Recorder that the petition was filed on August 8 in the SHC, and is scheduled for hearing on September 28. "The court in its interim order has stayed the (Rs 50 million CCP) fine," sources said. They said that the PQA, being a party to the dispute, was ordered by the SHC not to take any 'coercive action' against any of the consortium members until a court's decree is issued.
But, what may be more troubling for PQA is the fact that CHEC is said to have asked the court for a stay order against the long-awaited capital dredging at Port Qasim and that "no part be assigned to any other contractor". "Since PQA has included dredging of the turning basin in its recent maintenance dredging tender it may be a contempt of court later," they said.
Seeing some 'dark forces' bent upon preventing the foreign dredging companies from bidding in Pakistan, sources claimed that CCP, misguided by some 'vested interests', had no idea about technicalities of the dredging works. "Dredging... is threatened in Pakistan," they warned, saying that once the penalised companies leave the country, the market would be wide open for remaining big firms like Van Oord who would then charge the dredging rates of their liking.
When contacted, PQA Chairman (Retd) Vice Admiral Muhammad Shafi told Business Recorder that the consortium had sought stay orders only against CCP fine and PQA's 'coercive action' which, he said, was not being taken against them. The chairman expressed incognisance of any such request of the CHEC to the court for staying capital dredging project. "God willing", the upbeat PQA chief said when asked if the Authority would proceed with the partial dredging project in its 45-km long navigational channel abreast QICT.