The Power Development Board's (PDB) selection of best bidders for eight rental power projects totalling 530 megawatt capacity reflects the process followed during the caretaker government rule as inexperienced bidders are getting priority by just offering lowest power tariff.

Sources say PDB's tender evaluation committees for diesel-based and heavy fuel oil-based rental power projects have short-listed seven lowest bidders, while the eighth could not be decided yet.

But competing bidders and other officials are already questioning the incomplete evaluation process saying the committees were not cross-checking the tender documents to confirm their authenticity.

This is a major issue as during the caretaker government, an inexperienced bidder bagged four power projects by submitting fake claims which were not cross-checked.

The sources add the power board is likely to land with contracts that will fail to deliver plants just like what happened in the past.

Different rental power contractors have not yet delivered PDB more than 100 megawatt power though their deadline to do so expired more than a year ago. The PDB could not even collect full penalty money from these defaulters as the latter resorted to court injunctions.

The PDB had initially decided to complete its evaluation within three days by working round the clock. But due to various issues that keep on popping up, this process is now being delayed.

"This has happened because PDB under pressure from the higher authorities had relaxed the bid criterion so much that ambitious but inexperienced companies can chip in," quips a PDB high official.

The seven primarily lowest bidders are Otobi along with three partners for Bheramara 100 mw diesel plant, Asian Entech for Syedpur 50 mw diesel, Asian Entech for Katakhali diesel plant and Rahim Afrooz for Thakurgaon 50 mw diesel plant, Rahim Afrooz for Jamalpur 30 mw heavy fuel oil (HFO) plant, Coastal Saba for 50 mw Barisal HFO and Otobi for Noapara 100 mw.

The PDB has not yet decided anything about Madanganj 100 mw HFO plant.

The board had earlier promised that it would pick bidders able to really deliver power plants in time. To ensure it PDB would strictly check whether the bidders own power plant equipment. Besides, PDB followed a rule that no single company would be awarded with more than two power projects.

Asian Entech and Otobi, which are actually partners in different power projects, are dominating the primary selection. Asian Entech is partnering with Otobi in the Bibiyana 450 mw power project.

While Otobi is the country's largest furniture manufacturer, it has no experience in power projects. Sources say it is showing experience of a Chinese company as its 20 percent partner in the bids.

In November last year, Asian Entech was awarded with a 50 mw HFO plant in Sikalbaha in Chittagong which was supposed to be commissioned in July-August. It could not launch the plant till date.

Sources say the PDB tender committees overlooked some serious anomalies in the bid documents of Otobi in both Bheramara and Noapara projects. As required by the tender terms, Otobi's bids did not provide power plant equipment serial numbers as a proof that it owned these units.

The sources add in the Bheramara project Otobi provided the letter of firm commitment from a Chinese company named Tellhow Sci-Tech Co stating that Tellhow owned a 110 mw diesel-fired power plant, which it has committed to supply to Otobi for the Bheramara project.

However, the sources claim the plant, which is not in operation for the last one year, is actually owned by another company named Hui Yang Power Generation Company.

Otobi also provided End user certificate of a Chinese company on a letterhead having no contact information. The letterhead written in Chinese reads Guangdong Guang-Dian Power Grid Group Co. But this company changed its name to "Guangdong Power Grid Company" in 2005.

One of Otobi's partners, local Supreme Marketing Company, claims to have net stake worth Tk 10.28 crore for Bheramara and Noapara projects. But this company neither submitted TIN certificate nor filed tax returns in the last four years.

Finally, Otobi did not properly fill up the PDB form for programme schedule, known as G7 in both its tender documents. In its diesel bid, it stated 270 days will be required for commissioning of its plant and in HFO bid it stated 120 days.

But PDB's schedule for diesel plant is 120 days and HFO 270 days. As per the bid rule, if the G7 form is not properly filled up, the bid is subjected to rejection.

In dealing with the bid for Katakhali plant, the tender committee at first found selected Shasha Denims as the lowest bidder. Shasha Denims is yet another partner of Asian Entech. However, it was later found that Shasha Denims forgot to provide the bid bond.

The committee then switched to the next lowest bidder Summit Power. But it was soon found that Summit offered to install a land-based power unit, while the bid sought a barge-mounted one.

Following this finding, the committee stalled evaluating bids for this site. Till yesterday, the committee could not decide about the next course of action on this matter.

"In many cases the lowest bidders have cited the efficiency of power plant machinery which the actual manufacturers themselves do not claim. Rental power is costly. The evaluation committee should not rush its decision based on half-baked review of tender documents," comments an official concerned.