Beira project: S'pore firm may get huge contract sans tender

A proposal to hire a Singaporean firm as design consultant for the Beira Lake redevelopment project without a tender has bred fears, the Government will disregard procurement guidelines in the awarding of contracts under the Western Region Megapolis Project.

Under the consultancy, the Beira Lake Master Plan--first formulated in 1996-- will be updated. A Cabinet paper presented recently says

recommendations of this plan are still valid but need to be revisited and modified in the light of new demands created by the Western Region Megapolis Plan.

“M/s Surbana Jurong (Pvt) Ltd, Singapore, is considered the most suitable candidate to undertake the study, considering the fact that their involvement [sic] in the preparation of the Western Region Megapolis Master Plan,” says a Cabinet paper presented by the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development.

A quotation from the selected company, Surbana Jurong, has been submitted for Cabinet approval. The deal will cost the Government a minimum of US$373,000 or around Rs. 54 million. An optional package to set up a ‘Master Plan Public Exhibition’ is priced at US$150,000 or around Rs. 21.7 million.

The service proposal also provides a breakdown of the fees that various consultants will charge in the event the Government wishes to introduce variations or additional services to the contract. Thus, a project director would cost USS260 (Rs. 37,600) an hour or US$ 2,210 (Rs. 319,950) a day; associates would be US$ 230 (Rs. 33,300) an hour or US$1,955 (Rs. 283,049) a day; a project manager would be US$ 230 (Rs. 33,300) an hour or US$1,955 (Rs. 283,049) per day and so on.

“This is not an expensive contract,” said Megapolis and Western Development Ministry Secretary, Nihal Rupasinghe. “Surbana was involved in drawing up the Megapolis plan. This consultancy is an extension of that. Our objective is to get a marketable product.”

But a senior local consultant argued, “It is not the price but the procurement principle that matters. The contract could just as easily have been carried out by a Sri Lankan firm. Similarly, how do we know that the selected company is the best one and offers the best price? What is the difference between this and the unsolicited proposals of the past?”

“The Beira Lake area will be the centrepiece of the proposed financial and trading hub,” he said. “Where is the input of Sri Lankan professionals? In any other country, it is a policy to involve local expertise. They look forward to this kind of development to increase in-house capacity. Sri Lanka has world-renowned architects, structural engineers and other skilled personnel. We should look to enhancing their skills and exposure and exporting their services.” The Ministry has justified the selection of Surbana saying it has handled a wide array of projects in more than 200 cities and 50 countries. It also says the company completed master plans for more than 30 countries, including Sri Lanka. However, there are just ten specialists from Surbana among the 352 contributors published in the Western Region Megapolis Master Plan. They are listed as ‘external consultants’. Project insiders said they had played a limited role in the development of the plan.

Surbana Jurong is expected to be heavily involved in various development initiatives proposed by the Government, including the drawing up of a master plan for Trincomalee. In July, it was announced that Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment would enter into a memorandum of understanding with the company as a precursor to setting up of a joint venture.