Procurement of tugs: TI highlights irregularity in Port Qasim tender

TI Pakistan requests PQA chairman to examine and correct PQA tender notice for four tugs (75-85 tons bollard pulls).

KARACHI:

Transparency International (TI) Pakistan has requested Port Qasim Authority (PQA) Chairman Agha Jan Akhtar to examine and correct the PQA tender notice for four tugs (75-85 tons bollard pulls).

The TI says it has received a complaint that PQA is committing a violation of the PPRA Ordinance and Public Procurement Rules 2014 in the said tender in a number of ways.

“[The tender] debars Chinese manufacturers of tugboats from participating in the bidding and thus jeopardises the MoU signed between Pakistan-China for Chinese investment of $35 billion, which is a direct effort to fail the present government’s polices of attracting foreign investments, especially from China,” it says.

The letter says that according to the international practice, only two tugs are required for pulling any Liquified Natural Gas-carrying vessel into the port for docking and procurement of two extra tugs is not required.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2014.