Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) is going to invite fresh bids for the Diplomatic Shuttle Service after the refusal of the first and second successful bidders, one after another. The contract was awarded to the Diplomatic Facilitation Services for Rs.106 million to run the facility for three years.

The last bidding was held on 25 November 2016. Initially, 13 parties were in the run to secure the contract, but 11 companies participated in the bidding process while two companies did not attend the session.

The highest bid was Rs.106 million from Diplomatic Facilitation Services followed by the bids of Rs 105.8 million from Waleed Associates and Rs. 102.6 million from Bilal Travels.

The successful bidder has refused to operate the facility according to the terms of reference mentioned in the bidding documents and asked the MCI for undue relaxations and post bid changes.

Instead of relaxing its terms and conditions, the civic body decided to ask the second successful bidder to get the contract and wrote a letter to Waleed Associates, but it has also refused to run the service.

Now, the Authority is going to invite fresh bids for the Diplomatic Shuttle Service the third time as once before the last bidding, the whole process was declared void by the then Chairman CDA, Maroof Afzal, in June, 2016 while taking action over the complaints of irregularities in the bidding process.

While talking to the Daily Times Director DMA Capitan (R) Tahir Shahbaz Nadeem informed: “Two million rupees of earnest money from the successful bidder has been forfeited while an advertisement to seek fresh bids for the contract is expected to be published in the next few days as the second successful bidder also did not show any interest to run the services.”

When questioned as to what was the reason behind the refusal to accept the contract, he said: “It is the matter of affordability and I think the bidder found the contract unfeasible financially.”

Mr. Shahbaz further said: “There will be no change in terms and conditions of the contract, but the defaulted party would not be allowed to take part in the fresh bidding process.”

Following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the government decided to ban the entry of private vehicles into the Diplomatic Enclave and introduced the DSS for visitors and visa applicants to get to and from various diplomatic missions.

The service in its first shape was a “dubious” Build Operate, Transfer initiative. The CDA was facilitating the contractor by charging him only Rs.2 per square yard as the rent for the bus station, which amounted to an annual rent of Rs.44,444. The contractor collected millions till he was grilled for overcharging of fares by up to Rs.500 instead of the agreed fare of Rs.200.

A judicial commission headed by retired Justice Sardar Raza Khan in 2013 had recommended that the contract for the shuttle service be cancelled and also suggested to recover the overcharged amount as well as proposed action against the concerned CDA officials, but the decision is still pending for implementation.

Meanwhile, in June 2016, the civic body awarded the contract on the bid of Rs.67 million, but to the same contractor, who was accused of overcharging and under a deal with the CDA officials while inquiries were also pending against him.

However, the then Chairman CDA, Maroof Afzal, had turned down the bidding process and ordered the process initiated again in a transparent matter.

The insiders allege that the DSS was being used as a cover in the past under which several items ranging from vegetables to drugs and services of different kinds had been provided by the contractor to the diplomatic missions situated in the area.