ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) has raised objections to the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) decision to conduct a general pre-qualification of construction firms for upcoming development works.
CDA intends to pre-qualify firms for their financial soundness, especially for a Rs 10 billion rural development project.
However, PEC guidelines and Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules only allow specific project pre-qualification, not general pre-qualification.
The environmental wing of the civic agency had previously tried general pre-qualification of firms, which was nullified by courts.
Out of 213 registered firms that applied, only 75 have pre-qualified so far. CDA has other options, including the single-stage two-envelope bidding procedure approved by PAPRA.
The procedure allows firms to submit both technical and financial bids together, and only technical bids that meet the criteria are considered.
PEC has written to CDA, asking them to withdraw the pre-qualification notice and adhere to procurement policy and rules.
The two-year rural development project will include street pavements, sewerage systems, road maintenance, and other schemes.
The federal government is reportedly pushing CDA to start the project quickly due to the upcoming election year.