IBN projects fail to attract interest

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    Jun 24, 2018-The Investment Board Nepal’s (IBN) plan to prepare feasibility study reports of two exotic resorts and a glass factory has hit a snag as its public notice failed to draw attention of firms willing to prepare such reports.

    The IBN, on May 22, had sought expression of interest (EOI) from interested domestic firms to prepare the feasibility reports of a luxury resort in Shey-Phoksundo National Park, a ski resort in Manang and glass factory.

    The interested companies were supposed to submit the EOI within three weeks. The IBN was planning to shortlist six companies for each project to submit detailed technical and financial proposals. But only a couple of firms willing to prepare such reports have submitted EOI to the IBN, prompting the board to halt the procurement process to appoint consultant to prepare the study report. “As only a couple of firms showed interest, we are unable to shortlist interested firms as per our plan,” said a highly placed source at the IBN.

    Now, the board is planning to revise the eligibility criteria so that a larger number of consultant companies can qualify to bid for the job. “Earlier, the board sought EOI from only domestic firms who do not have the experience and expertise to prepare such reports,” said the source. “Therefore, we are planning to allow international firms to participate in the procurement process.”

    The IBN will shortlist the interested firms on the basis of Public Procurement Act 2007 and Public Procurement Regulation 2007 before asking them to submit detailed proposals. While evaluating the EOI, the experience of the firm accounts for 50 percent of the total marks. Similarly, qualification of the key experts and capacity of the consulting firm account for 30 and 20 percent of the total mark respectively.

    Source: The Kathmandu Post