Ampang LRT job may not go to lowest bidder

SYARIKAT Prasarana Negara Bhd said the government is not obliged to
award the systems contract for the Ampang light rail transit (LRT)
extension line project to the lowest bidder.

Prasarana
media manager Azhar Ghazali said the totality of the offer will be
considered, which among others, include the life cycle cost that will
bring about reducing operating expenditures over equipment lifespan.

The
best-fit solution will also be taken into account, the spin-off it
could generate to the economy, and the knowledge gained by the local
companies, Azhar said yesterday in a statement.

"As this
project is not all about lowest price alone, all elements of evaluation
parameters must be moderated so that the results willl reflect any
qualifiers attached within.


"Leaked information found in the media recently did not give a full
picture. Dated selective excerpts have been superseded by new
information resulting from the clarifications.

"They
did not do justice either by labelling certain activities as
interference, when, what, were and are being done, are due diligence
processes by the government," Azhar said.

Tenders for the systems contract for the Ampang line extension closed on June 16 2011.

Eight groups had made the bids, with prices ranging from RM950 million to RM1.45 billion.

They
are George Kent-China Railway Construction-Tewet GmbH;
Posco-Sojitz-Daewoo International-Thales; Invensys-Balfour Beatty
Rail-Ingress; Colas-CMC Engineering-Thales; Samsung-LG-Thales; SNC
Lavalin-WW Engineering-Bombardier; Siemens-Scomi Engineering and
Ansaldo-Emrail-Leighton.

Azhar said because the systems work is
a complex job, it involves a few rounds of deliberations to ensure all
perspectives are given due recognition before the ultimate decision of
awarding is reached.

In reaching for a decision, he said
benefits from competitive project cost point of view, long-term
operating expenditure savings solution for the operator, and the
opportunity for local companies to prosper and lead the development
must be articulately balanced.

As of to-date, he said there is yet a final decision on the award.

"An
official announcement on the award would be made by the Ministry of
Finance when all matters in regard to the contract had been considered
and studied, he added.