LAHORE, July 9: The Water and Power Development Authority has awarded contracts for the supply of one million single-phase meters to three local companies at the rate of Rs805 per unit.

The companies awarded the contract are PEL, Syed Bhais and Escorts. Wapda officials, however, did not give details of the share of each of these companies.

Last week, the authority’s technical committee had knocked out four Chinese competitors from the contention on the grounds that their products were technically unresponsive, adding that these were made for indoor installation and could not take 240 voltage run by the authority.

One of the Chinese companies had quoted a price of Rs647 per unit.

Wapda General-Manager (coordination & monitoring) Muhammad Anwar Khalid defended the decision, saying the Chinese meters were not tested and the authority could not take risk of procuring these in spite of their low price.

He also said these meters were not up to the mark because these had been designed for indoor installation, could not take load of 240 volts and did not have brass gear required by Wapda.

He denied any pressure for ensuring exit of the Chinese at the technical evaluation level because it could have been difficult for the local companies to match the price, as in the past the Chinese passed technical test and forced the price down by Rs220 per meter. “The authority has a right to take its decision and ensure quality on its terms rather than working on price preference alone,” he insisted.

About the negotiated price of Rs805 (instead of Rs820) as quoted by the local companies in their bids, Mr Khalid said interest rates had come down substantially, and capital had become cheaper for investors. The authority had negotiated and got reduced Rs25 keeping in view the previous price of Rs830.

A local representative of a Chinese bidder, however, claimed that Wapda’s technical committee had thrown them (companies) out of the competition without considering their point of view. He contended that the Chinese companies had been shown the door not because of any technical fault in their product, but for lacking some “physical attributes” particular to Pakistan.

“These attributes could have easily been included in the product when a prototype sample was to be submitted. Wapda could have suggested modifications and let them produce the required samples. The failure of samples could have cost the Chinese their bid bonds,” he said.

He said Wapda had to pay at least Rs158 million additional, and the consumers would foot the bill.