SC complex project embroils in controversy

Thimphu: The construction of the Supreme Court complex in Thimphu, which has been embroiled in delays and controversy over the bidding process for the past year, will now be undertaken by the government, say judiciary officials. “The inter-ministerial committee, which evaluated the re-tendered bids, came to decision that the bids were still unreasonably high,” said the Supreme Court construction project director, high court judge, Jigme Zangpo. “So the government has decided that it will take up the project itself.”

Nima construction had bid Nu 568 m and Kelcon construction, Nu 639 m in the re-tender, which was evaluated by the committee, that comprises representatives from the Standard and Quality Control Authority, School Planning and Building Division, National Property Bureau and other consultancy firms.

The government estimates to complete the government of India-funded project at a cost of just under Nu 400 m, said Judge Jigme Zangpo. “A project team will have to be formed and the Department of Urban Development Engineering Services (DUDES), under the works and human settlement ministry, will be the lead executing agency.”

The project will need at least 11 engineers, of which four engineers and a supervisor will have to be provided by the consulting firm, Christopher Charles Benninger Architects Private Ltd, which did the designs for the project. The other engineers will have to come from DUDES, said judge Jigme Zangpo.

The DUDES director, Rinchen Dorji, said that the department had so far not received anything in writing from the government designating it as the lead agency to undertake the project.

The decision of the inter-ministerial tender evaluating committee has met with distaste from contractors who took part in the tender for the project and have numerous accusations against members of the tendering and evaluation committee.

“It’s easy for them to say that the tenders have been called off,” said a contractor who took part in the first bid. “What about the Nu 500,000 or so we spent on the tender forms, the amount we declared as security deposits, among others?.'

Wangchuk of Kelcon construction added that the committee should have stopped the tendering from the beginning when they saw the rates submitted during the second tender. “They take a month to evaluate the tenders to find out that bids are extremely high based on the total amount quoted,” he said, adding that the committee should have at least gone through the analysis of the contractors on each of the items required by the tender document.

The contractors also said their bids were on the high side because the consultancy firm, Christopher Charles Benninger Architects Private Ltd from India, which the government hired without calling tenders, had included numerous unwanted items in the tender document.

The roofing materials, for example, were to be procured all the way from Singapore, when similar materials could be purchased at a cheaper cost from India.

“The cost of the roofing materials increases by 400 percent when they have to be bought from Singapore,” said Wangchuk. He said that these materials, if bought from India, would only cost Nu 7 million as compared with Nu 30 million from Singapore. “Besides, unlike other GOI-funded projects, there was no tax exemption in this case,” he said.

Wangchuk also said that it was a mockery of the people involved in the committee to talk of budget constraints on one hand and have fancy materials to be bought all the way from Singapore.

He pointed out that the consultant had “wilfully” omitted the false ceiling (the ceiling, which separates the top floor from the roof). “That is one of the main requisites of a building, which could cost anywhere between Nu 30 m and Nu 35 m,” he said, adding that it was deliberately left out so the winning contractor could quote his own rate and gain from it.

Contractors also pointed out that the conditions in the tender documents were to