‘RFQ model in line with int’l practices’

NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission has defended the request for qualification (RFQ) model recommended to select private sector partners for port projects. The commission has told the ministry of finance that the number of shortlisted players have been deliberately restricted to five or six to keep only serious players in the fray. Responding to the finance ministry, the commission has said that large players do not like to bid in cases where the zone of consideration is too large. This is in line with the international experience, says the commission.

Infrastructure firm Sical Infra Assets, an arm of Sical Logistics, and the India Terminal consortium moved the Madras High Court after being excluded from a short-list for a port project in July 2008. Not only were RFQ norms violated while shortlisting, but the RFQ model does not favour fair competition, they had argued.

Some players in the infrastructure space have also alleged that the manner in which points are calculated gives more weightage to developers who have experience in doing a variety of infrastructure projects and not just ports. In response, the Planning Commission has said the scheme for awarding points is in line with best international practices where wider experience counts.

The response of the commission is in line with the government���s stand before the Delhi Court when road developers moved the court alleging that shortlisting under the RFQ leaves out road developers per se and favours infrastructure bigwigs involved in ports, airports and railways.

Six players were shortlisted for the Rs 1,300-crore multi-purpose Ennore port terminal. The only stand-alone company in the shortlist was Netherlands-based APM Terminals Management.

The other selected players include consortia like Gammon Infrastructure Projects-Dragados SPL-Leighton Holdings; NYK Line with Hyundai Merchant Marine; Vedanta Resources with Eurogate; Larsen & Toubro with John Keells Holdings among others. Both DP World and PSA International were excluded from the list, despite their expertise in port projects. The Madras HC stayed the order and the six shortlisted players will have to wait a while before the bidding process moves ahead.