Goa CM Laxmikant Parsekar wants Louis Berger to complete Mopa International Airport project

PANAJI: Louis Berger may find it hard to get any new project in Goa, but chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar wants the controversial US firm to complete the Mopa International Airport project because most of the work is already done.

Louis Berger, which has played a key role in three multi-crore and high profile projects in Goa, is accused of paying off two influential former Congress ministers in the coastal state and its top officials have already pleaded guilty to offering bribes of $3.9 million, or about Rs 25 crore, to secure contracts in Asian countries including India. Parsekar said he “will think four times before giving any new project to Louis Berger”.

Speaking exclusively with ET on Sunday about the controversy, Parsekar, however, said the firm should complete the Mopa airport, a pet project of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar.

“They (Louis Berger) have finished 90% of the work concerning Mopa Airport that was given to them. According to agreement, (they were supposed to be paid) a certain sum after they had prepared the master plan, then a certain amount on some other work— a fixed percentage—then for the last tender document 10% and yet again another 10%. According to my information, we have (so far) paid (them) 90%. That’s because they have done work equivalent to the 90% (amount) that was paid to them. So, discontinuing the one who we have already paid 90% (of the agreed sum) is not appropriate, isn’t it?” Parsekar said.

“Moreover, nowhere has a question come up about their technical knowledge. Even if all these three works were given to them during the Congress regime, I do not feel it is proper to discontinue all that. We have to understand what is feasible, no? Had they not been paid, then it would have been a different matter,” he said.

“My interest is in ensuring it does the remaining 10% of its work and, after that, if the firm is to be blacklisted, let it be done later,” Parsekar said in a detailed conversation with ET at his official residence in Panaji.

The chief minister’s detailed explanation about his administration’s attitude towards Louis Berger— given out for the first time since the controversy erupted—is critical because questions are being raised about Parrikar’s decision to appoint the same firm as consultant on his pet project, Mopa airport.