BIA interim terminal deal worth $ 18 m goes to Chinese firm

The Cabinet yesterday gave approval to Airport and Aviation Services to commission the construction of the interim terminal building at Bandaranaike International Airport to China State Construction Engineering Corporation, after the Appeals Board overturned the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC) selection. 

The temporary terminal is to be built at a total cost of $17,946,792.58, the Minister told Cabinet on Tuesday, adding that the approval is subject to negotiations with the contractor on the proposed work plan, methodology and any other key issues relating to the contract. 

The Cabinet, on an earlier occasion, decided to commission an interim terminal to deal with the growing demand until the permanent terminal construction, which has been delayed due to issues in the bidding process, is completed. 

Accordingly, the interim terminal is dedicated for departure passengers of a capacity of 2.5 million per year as per forecasts in passenger growth.

Out of six companies which bid for the project, only four – MAGA Engineering, China Aero Technology International Engineering Corporation, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and China Harbour Engineering Company – qualified after the technical evaluation. 

SCAPC recommended awarding the contract to lowest bidder MAGA Engineering, which scored the highest points from evaluation of TEC and SCAPC, with a total bid of $ 7,486,257.67 before offering a 9.5% discount. 

However, the Procurement Appeal Board overturned the recommendation after revaluating the tender, following an appeal by China State Construction Engineering Corporation, which scored the second highest marks in the evaluation process. 

The Government today gave approval to the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media to exempt the company from paying VAT and NBT for this particular project. (CD)