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Public interest petition seeks a halt to Central Expressway Section 3 contracts
Two activists have petitioned the Court of Appeal seeking, among other things, an interim order preventing the awarding of any contract to any party in relation to the proposed 20km Central Expressway Section 3 (CEP3) from Rambukkana to Galagedara.
T. M. P. Sandun Thudugala and L. A. G. Renuka Sampath Liyandeniya have filed the petition in their private capacity for and on behalf of the public who, as Sri Lankan citizens, are called upon to pay taxes as well as meet transportation costs, loan repayments and public debt.
They have cited as respondents the Road Development Authority (RDA); the Highways Minister; the five private companies that are part of the Lanka Infrastructure Development Consortium (LIDC) that bid for the project; M.C.C. International Incorporation Ltd, China, and Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd, which were competing bidders; and the Attorney General.
The petitioners plead that the economic viability of CEP3 is causing grave concern to them and the public “who will be called upon to repay for government procurement and/or agreements”. They maintain that its economic viability is marginal whereas the financial commitment to the country and debt repayment burden cast upon them and the public are colossal.
The petitioners say they believe there are attempts to expedite CEP3 “especially in the background of the present economic decline at a very significantly inflated and increased cost”.
Their action is therefore instituted for the public benefit “in view of the gross economic damage being caused by expediting this particular component of the expressway in violation of due process of law, causing grave damage to the petitioners and the economy of the country”.
The petitioners refer to letters and statements released in the public domain by the two competing private sector bidders for and against their respective proposals.
“The petitioners plead that in any event the exchange of correspondences in the public in relation to this project reflects a confirmation of a compromised unlawful procurement bidding process for this project component at an inflated cost which is not financially beneficial for the public of Sri Lanka,” the petition states.
The petitioners assert that it is in the public interest for information to be obtained on the procurement process, costing, the return on investment and currency fluctuation in relation to CEP3. But there is no indication, among other things, of the pre-qualification of the bidders, contractual details or price escalation. And the official website of CEP3 was deleted or removed as at May 2022.
The authorities have invited the companies as investors in either BOO or BOT projects, allowing them to procure finance with a repayment method, repayment, and maintenance for 15 years.
“The petitioners accordingly verily believe that the said proposals bypassing the normal official channels of funding through known funding agencies and obtaining through private financing entities is at a higher rate of interest payment together with risk of currency depreciation,” they have submitted to court.
If CEP3 is proceeded with in terms of the cost escalation as opposed to the RDA engineer’s estimate and financial evaluation, it is “unjust enrichment of the respondents to the detriment of the petitioners and the public and the country”.
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