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Three top builders face axe over alleged Expressway bid fraud
Three leading construction companies that allegedly provided false information to secure a lucrative contract under section 3 of the Central Expressway Project risk being blacklisted for the first time under new procurement guidelines, which came into effect in January this year.
All three companies are of the CS2 grade, the highest classification awarded by the Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA), the regulator. The forged documents reportedly pertain to “audited” financial statements submitted as part of their bid documents, sources said.
The Cabinet has instructed the Highways Ministry Secretary to look at the “appropriate procedural steps to be taken in addressing the alleged fraudulent and corrupt practices” of the contractors. The Cabinet has also approved a proposal from Highways Minister Bimal Ratnayake to instruct the National Procurement Commission and CIDA “to take action accordingly” regarding these contractors.
The Cabinet memorandum submitted by Minister Ratnayake reveals that the Standing High-Level Procurement Committee has recommended action against the bidders “based on the submission of documents with their technical bids containing elements of fraud and corrupt practices” identified by the Bid Evaluation Committee.
The new procurement guidelines aim to minimise fraud and other malpractices related to the bidding process. Under them, authorities may sanction, debar or blacklist bidders, suppliers, contractors and service providers for violating the guidelines and the terms and conditions of the relevant procurement documents.
Actions may also be taken against officers of any institution to which the procurement guidelines are applicable if they are involved in public procurement and are found responsible for violating the procurement guidelines, including the ethics of public procurement (which is another section of the guidelines).
One of the violations defined in the guidelines that qualifies a bidder, supplier, contractor or service provider for sanction, debarring or blacklisting is: “Submission of eligibility and qualification requirements containing false information or falsified documents.”
A committee is to be appointed to probe the matter, the sources said.
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