Dear Editor,
THE Ministry of Public Works wishes to clarify the blazing article carried in Stabroek News on Sunday, January 30, 2022, titled, “Highest Bidder secures contract for India-Funded Ogle to Eccles four-lane Highway.”

The information provided is very erroneous.
The ministry wishes to state the following:

The bidding process for selection of the Civil Works Contractor commenced on June 3, 2021 and was extended by three weeks and closed on August 24, 2021. However, no bids were received.

The Government of Guyana and the India EXIM Bank then negotiated and came to agreement that the Ministry of Transport in India would undertake the prequalification of Indian contractors with the intent to draw a broader pool, and the Government of Guyana would launch the financial bids concurrently.

The following contractors were prequalified by the EXIM Bank of India:
* AFCONS Infrastructure Limited
* Ashoka Buildcon Limited
* Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Pvt. Limited (DRAIPL)
* JMC Projects (India) Limited

The tenders for prequalified contractors were opened on December 10, 2021, at 09:00hrs and their respective bids were read out as follows:
No. BIDDER ORIGINAL BID PRICE DISCOUNT OFFERED
CORRECTED DISCOUNTED BID PRICE RANKING 1 AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd. 108,055,358.25 NIL No Discount
108,055,358.25 3 2 Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. 111,976,190.28 5% 106,383,954.52 1 3 DRAIPL 106,775,275.00 NIL No Discount
106,775,236.5 2
The winning bid for the Ogle to Eccles four-lane highway, Ashoka Buildcon Limited, had offered a five per cent discount within its bid to the value of US$ 106,383,954.52, and this therefore made it the lowest bidder for the project and not the highest, as reported in 2022/01/30 Sunday Stabroek.

Therefore, contrary to the Stabroek News article, the contract was awarded to the lowest responsive bidder, tenderer #2 – Ashoka Buildcon Limited to the value of US$ 106,383,954.52.

Yours sincerely,
Ministry of Public Works