One of the Indian companies vying for the multimillion-dollar contract to construct a new vessel for the Northwest/Georgetown route failed to clear financial assessment tests in India, back in 2016.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, is one of two companies that submitted bids for the project—both companies are from India.
The bids were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in Georgetown yesterday.
Green Reach submitted a US$12.7M bid, while its competitor, Shoft Shipyard Private Limited –placed a bid of US$15.6M.
An article published in the Economic Times on July 5, 2016, revealed that Green Reach would have submitted a bid for one of India’s largest military export contracts but failed to clear financial assessment tests. Garden Reach was the lowest bidder for a Philippine naval requirement of two light frigates against Korean and Spanish competitors.
“After the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders emerged as the lowest bidder, the Philippine Navy assessed the yard to determine whether it was capable of meeting the order. While the yard scored perfectly on physical infrastructure and capability, it did not meet requirements on the financial side, which required adequate funds to construct the vessels over the next few years without any payments from the Philippines.” Manu Pubby, a contributor to the Economic Times wrote.
The provision of the ferry is an initiative that was birthed by former President Donald Ramotar, who had secured the funding while attending the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Gujrat, India, back in 2015.
The Indian Government has since made available US$18 million for the vessel. Of this amount, US$8 million will be a grant, while the remaining US$10 million will be a line of credit (LoC) to be repaid within 20 years, with a five-year grace period.
