L&T's missed Daman deadline causes Rs 1000 crore loss to ONGC-III: More probing needed
Jun 20:
In the face of the Rs 1000 crore that ONGC has incurred because of the loss of the time window in the Daman development project, an investigation is needed on how the E&P major turned a two-horse race for the critical transportation, installation, commissioning and pipeline installation as well as top side modification job in the project into a single tender bid. 8The other competitor was Sapura Offshore of Malaysia. 8But the Malaysian company was debarred on specious grounds -- of not submitting a financial statement on time -- though it was found that the company had a much higher level of experience and quoted a lower price than L&T. 8Sapura was not given a favourable hearing despite a ruling by the Independent Monitors of ONGC and a dissenting note by a tender evaluation committee member. 8The entire sequence of events leading to the award to L&T and the grounds on which Sapura was kept away from bidding needs a special investigation. 8More so now that ONGC is staring at a Rs 1000 crore loss and a complete disarray in its ofshore rig deployment schedule Comment:The manner in which the contract was awarded on a single tender basis is unprecedented. Every attempt was made to ensure that such a large and crucial tender was awarded on a single tender basis. And this entire process deserves a thorough scrutiny from the CAG and the CVC. Files are surely to be opened on this case, given the quantum of loss, the question is when Click on Details for more