A worker loads coal onto a truck at Sanyuan Coal Mine in China. PHOTO | FILE
By SANDRA CHAO-BLASTO
In Summary
- HCIG was seeking to overturn the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) decision awarding the lucrative project to the Centum and Gulf Energy consortium.
A Chinese company that had gone to court disputing
award of the Sh164 billion Lamu- based coal power plant to a consortium
that includes NSE-listed Centum Investments has withdrawn its case.
Hebei Construction Investment Group (HCIG) and its Kenyan
partner Liketh Investments had gone to the High Court seeking to
overturn the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) decision
awarding the lucrative project to the Centum and Gulf Energy consortium.
The parties wrote to the deputy registrar of the
judicial review division on June 16 seeking to register their consent
over the matter.
The consent said that the Chinese firm was
withdrawing all complaints it had against the decision of the PPOA’s
petition committee in January.
“The ex-parte applicant confirms that it shall not
challenge the award of the tender for the development of one 900-1000
megawatt coal power plant in Lamu County awarded to the Gulf Energy
consortium by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum on September 1 in any
forum,” the letter said.
HCIG-Liketh had in the new application said that
the procurement watchdog was wrong to allow Centum and Gulf Energy to
participate in the process after initially being knocked out at the
first round.
The Chinese company claimed that PPOA had
mis-interpreted the law when it ruled that the decision by the Energy
ministry to allow reconstruction of the Centum-Gulf Energy consortium
was sanctioned in law.
Centum had initially partnered with Sepco and
Thermax, but the consortium was knocked out. Centum opted to
reconstitute its membership after being re-admitted so as to submit a
stronger bid.
It then partnered with Gulf Energy, Sichuan Electric Power Construction Company and CHD Power Plant Operation Company.
HCIG-Liketh said that it offered the lowest cost
for construction of the plant at Sh43 billion per year compared to
Centum’s Sh46.6 billion.
After dismissing the appeal PPOA’s petition
committee slapped the Chinese firm with Centum-Gulf Energy’s legal bill
of Sh181 million. The firm wanted the High Court to also review that
decision.
The consent entered by the parties however showed that the bill resulting from the petition had also been settled.
Centum, in its bid documents, said construction of the Lamu plant would take 36 months, double the time HCIG-Liketh had stated.
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