Expressway bogged down in political meddling

By Anthony David and M. Ismeth

The multi-billion rupee Colombo - Katunayake expressway project is likely to be further delayed due to apparent political interference in favour of one of the bidders.

The initial work for the project commenced in September 1998 with the Road Development Authority calling for pre qualifications.

Under the proposed project it was designed to build a four lane divided expressway of about 25 kilometres between the BIA and Colombo. Access to the highway was to be limited being on a fee levying basis.

The project was intended to increase mobility between the airport and Colombo with the approximate time of travel between Katunayake and Colombo being about 20 minutes.

The proposed expressway was to begin at Peliyagoda and proceed towards the Hunupitiya railway station and veer west to cross the Colombo - Negombo main road at a point close to Mabole. After reaching the old Negombo canal it was to proceed to Liyanagemulla where it enters the Negombo lagoon from where it runs through the lagoon for about 1.3 km before turning east and joining the Canada Friendship road which is the access road to the airport, at its starting point.

The high cost of the project had been attributed to the fact that most of the expressway passes through predominantly marshy and water logged ground, overlying thick deposits of highly compressible soils with a short section located in a shallow lagoon. The government initially called for pre qualification of tenderers on the basis of either Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) or for Design Build and Turnkey (DBT). and accordingly eight tenderers submitted their papers on the DBT basis and two others on the BOT basis.

On April 5, 1999 tender documents were made available and a five month period was given for bid preparation.

Meanwhile the Transport Ministry discussed with the Secretary to the Treasury and decided project financing would be called from the prospective tenderers. Accordingly all tenderers were asked to submit their proposals for project financing.

When tenders closed four tenderers submitted their bids on the DBT basis while two tenderers prequalified on the BOT basis.

The bids were from:

The joint venture of BEC Freres SA, France/Scetauroute SA, France/ Van-Oord ACZ BV of Netherlands/International Construction Consortium Ltd Sri Lanka.

Joint Venture of Yunnan Machinery Import and Export Corporation/Shanghai Urban Construction (Group)/ Shanghai Design Corporation and Research Institute - China.

Joint Venture of Dredging International of Belgium and China Guangxi Corporation for International Techno Economic Cooperation for International Techno Economic Corporation of China and The joint venture of Daewoo and Keangnam of South Korea.

The Cabinet Appointed Tender Board (CATB) evaluated the tender and the joint venture between Dredging International Belgium - Guangxi China was ranked number 1 for the tender with a total score of 73.83 as against its closest competitor which scored 69.86 in the evaluation.

Dredging International and Guangxi not only ranked number one in the evaluation, but was also the lowest bidder quoting 9.2 billion rupees.

With the tender procedures being finalized in December Transport Minister A.H.M. Fowzie prepared the Cabinet paper to award the tender to the selected bidder.

However without any reasons being given, the Cabinet paper was not taken up for discussion.

Millions of rupees had been spent by the bidders as they were only given a general idea of the area during a conducted tour by bus and only general specifications given.

While the award of the tender was being delayed the then Chairman of the CATB, Daya Liyanage retired from the post of Treasury Secretary and took up an overseas posting.

In a separate development the Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) Tilan Wijesinghe who served in the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) submitted a dissenting report regarding the award of the contract to the joint venture selected.

However the CATB headed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Dr. P.B. Jayasundara rejected the dissenting report on the award of the contract to the Belgium- China joint venture company.

In March this year the government changed its mind regarding the funding of the project and decided that the Sri Lankan government would finance the expressway.

In the process it also decided that all four tenderers who were tenderers in the final round including two bidders who were treated as non-responsive as they both failed to obtain the qualifying mark of 50 per cent for technical and management aspects, were allowed to re-submit their tenders.

The CATB , meanwhile consulted the Attorney General's Department to ascertain whether the procedure would violate established procedures.

Meanwhile the TEC observed that 'calling for re-adjusted bids after opening the original tenders is a direct violation of tender procedures'.

The TEC pointed out that the change of funding source is possible, but the original tender document should not be changed.

'This is because the tenderers were not aware of this fact at the bidding stage. Under this situation, the bidders have certain rights to seek legal redress against the Sri Lankan government', the TEC noted.

Based on the TEC report the CATB said that since the opinion was that they would be violating the laws by changing the tender procedure the next option was to reject all four tenders and call for fresh bids from all eight pre-qualified bidders.

However, the move would result in a minimum four month delay, the CATB said.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga in her capacity as Finance Minister sought Cabinet approval to re-call tenders on the grounds that foreign funding of the project could lead to a considerable delay in the implementation of the project.

At this time, Minister Fowzie was away in China on a mission to purchase locomotives.

The Sunday Times learns that moves are underway to award the tender to Daewoo and Keangnam which has quoted 11 billion rupees.

Investigations by The Sunday Times have revealed that the change of the tender procedures and the decision for the government to fund one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country may have been taken in order to accommodate a company which was disqualified as non-responsive.

With the government's defence expenditure increasing and a decision taken to cut down on development projects to finance the war questions are being asked as to how the government would finance the multi-billion rupee expressway project.

The Sunday Times learns the Treasury has already explored the possibility of raising funds for the project and failed.

During the preparation of the Technical Evaluation Committee report after tenders were re-called, government influence had allegedly been used to prepare the report according to certain political requirements.

Meanwhile the Belgium investor has already decided to invest in a project in the Maldives.

UNP to bring in 8,000 polls observers

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

The main opposition UNP is planning to bring in as many as 8,000 foreign observers for the upcoming general elections.

UNP sources told The Sunday Times the European Union and the Jimmy Carter Center in the United States had been contacted and a positive response had been received from the former.

A committee headed by party chairman Karu Jayasuriya will handle arrangements for the foreign observers with the cost estimated at about 5 million rupees.

The sources observers would be sent mainly to polling divisions which were generally troublesome and difficult to manage.

The committee will inform the Elections Commissioner of its plans regarding the observers.

In addition, 500 National Youth Front members will be called upon to assist each electoral organisation.

The sources said that the first demonstration held last week to protest against the escalating cost of living was seen as a huge success and the party would hold similar rallies in other provinces.

Sangha parley to deal with reforms

With the Buddhist clergy accusing the Government of not taking its views when drafting the Constitution, the Maha Sangha Convention to be held on August 1 will draw its attention to key issues.

The Maha Sangha Convention which is expected to draw more than 5000 monks from all over the country is set to discuss the main issues and to urge the Government to take in the views of the Sinhala people.

Two main issues scheduled to be taken up will be the proposed constitutional reforms with the merger of the North and East and giving special reference to the TULF proposal which was formulated at the Thimpu talks. The other issue will be the reported move for the deletion or dilution of the constitution's Article 9 which provides a special place and protection for Buddhism.

The Sunday Times learns that a convention will move a resolution for the constitutional reforms to be published and fully analyzed, especially by the Sinhala people before they are presented in parliament.

National Sangha Sabha Chief Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera told The Sunday Times that the President should call on the Mahanayakes to discuss the constitutional reforms.

'The President has discussed it with all political parties including the Tamil parties and the diplomats but the Sinhala people who consist of 74% of the population have been overlooked," he said.

The clergy proposed that the reforms proposals should be placed before the people at the general elections.

Japan awaits word on Norochcholai

By Shelani de Silva

The Japanese Government is awaiting official confirmation from Government over the cancellation of the Norochcholai power plant project to stop the funds for the project.

Last week President Chandrika Kumaratunga said the controversial power plant project had been called off due to protests by the Catholic Church and the people in the area.

However, the Japanese Embassy's Economic Division chief K Seiyama told The Sunday Times that the Government was yet to inform them officially.

'The Japanese Government provided engineering services as part of the funding. We were awaiting submission of proposals for the construction by the Government' he said adding until the Japanese Government is informed officially the funding cannot be stopped.

Meanwhile a CEB official told The Sunday Times that they too were informed by the Director of Information Ariya Rubesinghe in a press release last week that the project was cancelled.

While the Catholic Church and those who protested against the coal power plant have taken President Kumaratunga's assurance the project will not come through, environmentalists claim it is only an election stunt by the Government.

President Kumaratunga made a similar promise during the Presidential election in December by stating the project would be called off.

Retired colonel gets Rs. 3m as damages

Retired Colonel M. Dissanayake, former director of the Army Welfare Unit has been awarded 3 million rupees as damages for a defamatory article published against him in the Observer and the Janatha newspapers of the Associated Newspapaers of Ceylon Limited.

The case was first taken up before Colombo Distict Judge Jagath Balapatabendi then continued with the consent of the parties before Judge Chandra Ekanayake.

The court referred to the evidence given by Colonel Dissanayake, and his witnesses, retired Major General Shiva Shanmugam, an Army Accounts officer and a representative of Shirley Ganegoda Associates, Chartered Accountants.

It said that having taken up the defences of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege the newspapers did not lead the evidence of any witnesses.

The judge said she accepted the evidence given on behalf of Col. Dissanayake and rejected the position of the defendants.

The court referred to the allegation which had been made in the newspaper reports, namely that Col. Dissanayake had committed a fraud and had been removed from the Sri Lanka Army. It held that the allegation was false and defamatory. The court accordingly awarded Rs. 3 million as compensation to Colonel Dissanayake.

Lawyer V. Wimala-chanthiran with A.P. Niles and D.S.Saman de Silva appeared for Col. Dissanayake.

Maligawa pirith for PM's milestone

Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike attended a pirith ceremony held at the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy on Friday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her appointment as the world's first woman Prime Minister.

She took office on July 21, 1960 in the aftermath of the assassination of her husband S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike when the party turned to her in a moment of crisis. Upto then, she had maintained a low-profile role mainly as a mother, but when power was suddenly thrust upon her, she responded magnificently.

In 1965, Ms. Bandaran–aike's United Front coalition was defeated at the general elections though she herself — contesting a parliamentary seat for the first time — won Attanagalla with a thumping majority of more than 16,000 votes. Upto 1965, she had been an appointed member of the Senate.

After serving five years as the leader of the opposition, Ms. Bandaranaike was swept back to office with a two thirds majority in 1970, enabling her to change the Soulbury Constitution and turn the dominion of Ceylon into the Republic of Sri Lanka.

Despite the shattering youth revolution in 1971, Ms. Bandaranaike reached her greatest heights locally and internationally during her term as prime minister from 1970 to 1977. With her world image gaining wide popularity, she presided over the Nonaligned summit in Colombo and became the head of the then 101 nation movement.

Ms. Bandaranaike was routed in the 1977 general elections and was thrown into a political wilderness when the Jayewardene administration stripped her of her civic rights for seven years.

But even at the age of 74, she stormed back to the frontlines of national politics to contest the 1988 presidential elections. With a narrow defeat at an election filled with turmoil and allegations of corruption, Ms. Bandaranaike gradually stepped aside to pave the way for her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga to take the leadership.

In 1994, Ms. Bandaranaike was reappointed to parliament and became the prime minister under the presidency of her daughter. But ill health and other factors compelled her to play a low-profile and largely ceremonial role.

Meanwhile, Cultural and Religious Affairs Minister Lakshman Jayakody also celebrated 40 years in national politics.

Mr. Jayakody represented the Divulapitiya seat in Parliament from 1960 to 1977. In 1972 he was appointed Junior Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs.

Fishy formalin surfaces again

The use of formalin for the preservation of fish — a process banned some years ago — has resurfaced in some parts of the country, the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) said.

The Ministry of Health has undertaken islandwide tests on random samples from fish stalls in a series of raids to identify the gravity of the problem, Fisheries Ministry Secretary S. Amarasekera said.

While few of the tests have showed a negative result, the Health Ministry is digging deeper as it suspects that the chemical is in use in some parts of the country.

Chief Inspector S. Nagiah of the Food Research Unit at the Health Ministry said consumption of fish treated with formalin, a toxic substance, would have a very small effect.

"In the case of fish, they can't be using high doses. Treated fish will lose its palatability and sometimes its consumption may result in diarrheoa or vomiting," he said.

Though a banned chemical, the product is available in the market as it is used in aqua culture, at a very low concentration, to get rid of parasites, Dr. J.M.P.K. Jayasinghe of the Post Harvest Technology Division of NARA said.

The issue was taken up following informal complaints to the Fisheries Ministry about the use of formalin to preserve fish. Dr. Jayasinghe said that on a directive of President Kumaratunga a meeting was convened and measures necessary to crack down on the illegal use of formalin was discussed.

Suppiah's sacrificial act saves child

By Faraza Farook

A sixty-four-year-old man survived miraculously after sustaining severe injuries on his groins when he tried to rescue his seven-year-old grand daughter who fell between the platform and a moving train.

S. Suppiah from Gampola sustained a bad pelvic fracture after he got crushed between the Kandy express train and the platform at the Fort Railway station while trying to save his grand daughter who had fallen.

Barely able to move, Suppiah began to relate his nightmare. Mr. Suppiah came to Colombo last month with three of his grand children aged nine, seven and four to gift 50 copies of a book authored by him to the National Library. He was turned away at the Library as the officer in charge was absent and a series of holidays followed. The Library authorities wanted him to come back on Monday and thus, Mr. Suppiah decided to leave Colombo that evening on the 5.45 Kandy express.

While awaiting the arrival of the train with his two grand daughters and grandson, little did he know he would have to face a tragic situation.

"On the arrival of the train there was a big rush to get in while we were waiting for the train to stop. The train was slowly coming to a stop and not a fraction of a second would have passed before I found my seven-year-old grand daughter Priyadarshani fallen between the platform and the moving train.

"She was pushed by a man carrying a huge bag and had fallen down from the platform. In a bid to save her, I too got down and held Priyadarshani against the platform covering her. There was no time to get out and I got crushed between the platform and the train.

"There was pandemonium at the station as I cried with pain and the train was brought to a halt. I was later rushed to the Accident Service of the Colombo National Hospital while Priyadarshani was taken to the Lady Ridgeway," Mr. Suppiah said.

Priyadarshani had minor injuries to her hand and head while Suppiah had to fight for life.

"Suppiah suffered a bad pelvic fracture as he was crushed between the train and the platform and has to be in bed for at least six months," Dr. Narendra Pinto, Orthapaedic Surgeon at the Colombo National Hospital said.

He said that the injuries will have long term effects such as difficulty in passing urine. It's a life-threatening injury and Mr. Suppiah is fortunate to have survived," the doctor said.

Mr. Suppiah who had been a barber, took to writing ten years ago. Since then, he has been seriously involved in writing film reviews and biographies and scripts for school dramas.

The funding for the printing etc. solely came from Mr. Suppiah's part-time business.

"I make 'disco balls' and sell them during festivals and these have a good demand. I deposit the money in the bank and use it when necessary," he said

Mr. Suppiah's ultimate dream is to write a biography on the famous actor the late M. G. Ramachandran and a book on the 'life of the Sinhala Cinema'.

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