KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet has decided to purchase a $15.95 million helicopter from an Italian company for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to carry out relief work.

The decision in this connection was taken in the cabinet meeting held here at CM House on Friday with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in the chair.

Briefing the cabinet through a presentation on maintenance of transparency in the process, procurement committee chairman Shahzar Shamoon said an advertisement for procurement of a helicopter was published on official websites of the PDMA, the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and in national and international dailies.

In response to it, eight parties procured bid documents and only one party, M/s AugustaWestland, SPA Italy, responded to the advertisement.

He said that a technical committee under Chief Pilot of VIP Flights evaluated the technical bid. The procurement committee after visiting the user of a helicopter of the same brand, model AW139 in Pakistan, held a meeting with the technical team of AgustaWestland.

The chief minister with the approval of the cabinet directed the procurement committee to award a contract to procure the 12-seater helicopter AW139 for $15.95 million.

He also decided to establish two development authorities — The Thar Development Authority and the Kohistan Development Authority — through two separate ordinances for which he directed the law department to complete the required formalities within a week.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2014