The Hindu Business Line : Iran pipeline project: GAIL invites bids for legal consultant

Pointers
The last date for submission of bids is August 8.
Each country would be appointing its own legal consultant.
The consultant will help in drafting and negotiating various inter-state and state-level agreements.

Richa Mishra

New Delhi, July 23 GAIL (India) Ltd, which is the nodal agency for engaging a legal advisor for the multi-million dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, has invited bids for appointing a legal consultant. The last date for submission of bids is August 8.

Sources told Business Line that the legal consultant will help in drafting and negotiating various inter-state and state-level agreements. This will include memorandum of understanding between the heads of the states (Iran, Pakistan and India) and the inter-Governmental agreement between the three nations to facilitate the realisation of the project within the territories of these countries.

The appointed entity will also help in formulating the clutch of Government agreements to be entered into separately by India, Iran and Pakistan with the project investors to deal with the requirements of each host country individually and the project activity within each country. Each country would be appointing its own legal consultant.

Who qualifies…

To qualify as a consultant, a legal firm needs to have at least one trans-national natural gas pipeline project experience under its belt. Besides, the prospective bidder should also be involved in executing, negotiating and finalising at least one gas/liquefied natural gas sales purchase agreement on international basis involving selling and buying agencies from different countries.

If the bidding legal firm happens to be a foreign law firm, which intends to come in with an Indian one, in that case, a memorandum of understanding with the Indian law firm should be submitted along with the bid, sources added.

The legal firms planning to bid for the job should have an annual turnover of minimum of Rs 1.15 crore or its equivalent in dollar in any of the three preceding financial years.

Advisor

GAIL has been seeking advice from Amarchand & Mangaldas, on case-to-case basis for the project. The financial advisor will, however, lead the consortium of advisors and act as the lead advisor.

The major scope of work for the technical advisor is to recommend the route, safety and security aspects, optimum cost of the project, transportation tariff and technical specifications of the pipelines.

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