The Hindu Business Line : JNPT defers board meet yet again

The official reason is that the management of JNPT was waiting for the legal opinion on the bids submitted that were not in consonance with some of the bidding conditions.

New Delhi , Jan. 14

THE Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has deferred for the fourth time a crucial Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday to consider the technical bids for building a new container handling facility at the port, sparking off fears of delay in implementing the project.

"A board of trustees meeting slated to be held on January 13 has been postponed. The new date for the meeting has not been fixed yet," a Government official told Business Line.

The board was first scheduled to meet on December 22 last to consider the technical bids submitted by five consortia to build the new terminal. It was later postponed to December 26, then to December 31 and to January 13. JNPT had earlier set a mid-January date to select a private operator to implement the Rs 1,000-crore project.

The official reason for the deferment of the board meeting is that the management of JNPT was waiting for the legal opinion on the bids submitted by the Maersk-Concor combine, United Liner Agencies India Pvt Ltd (ULA)-Hamburg Port Authority and CMA-CGM-CSX World Terminals consortium that were not in consonance with some of the bidding conditions.

The bids submitted by the other two consortia, namely PSA Corporation Ltd-Bombay Dyeing Group and Marubeni Corporation-Evergreen Marine Corp, are expected to sail through the technical round smoothly without any hiccups.

JNPT is mainly seized of the technical bid submitted by the Maersk-Concor consortium in the wake of allegations by a rival bidder that its "joint and several liability" declaration was deficient. The Port Trust has sought legal opinion on the validity of the technical bids submitted by Maersk-Concor from a former Additional Solicitor General.

But, Maersk-Concor has refuted the allegations that its technical bid was deficient in any way. "We don't know who is spreading these allegations. As far as we are concerned, we have submitted a complete bid that is totally unconditional. We have accepted the licence agreement in totality without any conditions," a Maersk official told Business Line.

"In case JNPT wants any clarifications on the joint and several liability clause, we are willing to give our response," he stated.

The case of ULA-Hamburg Port Authority has also gone for legal opinion after the ULA-led consortium submitted the technical and financial bid despite the last-minute walkout of CDC Capital Partners from its team. ULA still submitted the technical and financial bids with a request seeking time to replace CDC Capital Partners to fulfil the financial criteria set by JNPT for the qualification of bidders.

But, the CMA-CGM-CSX World Terminals Ltd consortium is a straight forward case for rejection after the French consortium submitted the technical and financial bids without the bid bond of Rs 4.5 crore following the departure of Seaking Infrastructure Ltd from its consortium. "The non-submission of the bid bond is a clear indication that the French consortium is not serious about the project. This is a serious lapse warranting a rejection of its bid," the official said.

Significantly, JNPT's tender evaluation committee was of the view that the bids submitted by CMA-CGM-CSX World Terminals Ltd as well as ULA-Hamburg Port Authority were "non-responsive" and recommended that their "price bids should be returned unopened." The management of JNPT is looking at ways to accommodate all the three bidding consortia that are facing disqualification on one count or the other to increase competition among bidders for the project.

A section within the Government feels that the case of Maersk-Concor and ULA-Hamburg Port Authority should be considered favourably. "The management of JNPT and its Board of Trustees are vested with adequate powers to take decisions in the overall benefit of the port," the official said. In the case of ULA, everything is in order except a new partner to fulfil the financial criteria. "This is not an issue at all and can be allowed easily," he said. Whereas, Maersk-Concor team can be asked to rectify the error, if ever there is one. "If they refuse, it can be noted on the file and their bid should be rejected," he opined.