the goan I network
MARGAO
With the tender for the Rs 8.38 crore multi-level parking project going abegging with no takers, the Margao Municipal Council is now hoping against hope of finding prospective contractors to execute the project as the civic body has extended the time frame for bidders by another 15 days.
Municipal officials in private say the extension of the time limit for contractors to place their bids is a last ditch effort to rope in some prospective contractors to bid for the ambitious project, which has hit a roadblock since the last three years.
Civic officials conceded that time is running out
for the municipality to find prospective contractors, saying that the with election code of conduct round the corner for the by-polls and later
the Lok Sabha election, the fate of the project remains uncertain.
A senior MMC official told The Goan that contractors have apparently shied away from bidding for the ambitious project with the government dragging its feet on revising the GSR rates. They pointed out that the GSR rates have come as a stumbling block for many a prospective contractor to bid for the tender given the huge differences in the rate of construction.
For instance, it has been pointed out that a cement bag costs around Rs 330 in the open market, while the GSR rates hovers below Rs 200, leaving many a contractor with no option than to place their bids.
MMC Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai said the municipality will try to find out a solution to the imbroglio if the decision to extend the time limit by 15 days also ends up in not getting any takers.
“We know that the problem lies in the GSR rates, which has forced many a contractor to stay away from placing their bids. Let us wait and see whether any contractor comes forward,” she said.
The multi-level parking project has hit the roadblock ever since the foundation stone for the ambitious project was laid in 2015 during the tenure of former Chairperson Arthur D’Silva.
Though the MMC had tendered the project around two years ago, the GST tangle had caused the delay in its
execution, which finally resulted in the contractor expressing his inability to execute the project.
