PMO directs immediate advancement of Sunkoshi-Marin bidding process

Kathmandu: The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has directed the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation to immediately initiate the bidding process for the Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project in accordance with the amended Act and Regulations.

This directive was issued following a meeting held on Monday at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar. During the meeting, the Ministry committed to advancing the necessary procedures to ensure the completion of this ‘National Pride’ project within the stipulated timeframe.

Previously, the government had decided to cancel the bidding process for the Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project after discovering serious legal and procedural flaws. The cancellation occurred even though the technical proposals had already been approved and the opening of financial proposals was scheduled for today.

The government halted the procurement process upon realising that legal requirements had not been followed. The meeting was attended by the Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr Jagdishwar Karmacharya, Director General of the Department of Irrigation, Dinesh Rajauriya, Chief of the Project, Krishna Prasad Rijal, and various project engineers.

It may be noted that the government had amended the Public Procurement Regulations, adding Rule 26(a) to the original regulations. Under this new arrangement, for large and complex construction projects with an estimated cost exceeding NPR 1.5 billion, it is mandatory to specify the weightage for technical and financial proposals in the tender documents.

However, even after the amended regulations were published in the Nepal Gazette, the project office disregarded this requirement and called for technical proposals, following the old provisions instead.

The advancement of the procurement process based on outdated provisions, despite the implementation of new legal requirements, raises serious questions regarding the project’s legal compliance. Section 3, (2) of the Public Procurement Act, 2063, stipulates that any procurement action taken in violation of the Act or its regulations shall be rendered void and invalid.

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