Jisha Surya
Thiruvananthapuram: PWD minister V K Ebrahim Kunju on Friday said that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was selected as general consultants for the monorail projects in the state considering its ‘popularity’. He said it was people’s choice to appoint E Sreedharan as the head of the projects and the government took a stand ‘not to displease anyone’.
He was replying to TOI’s queries on the exorbitant consultancy fee demanded by the DMRC for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode monorail projects. While the industry standard for monorail consultancy is only one to two per cent, DMRC demands 3.5% of the estimate as consultancy fee.
Kunju said the government has not ruled out the option of global competitive bid. “We have not ruled out option for global tender. We will consider that too in the full board meeting of Kerala Monorail Corporation Limited, which will be held on April 17,” the minister said.
When asked about the planning board advice to go for global bidding, the minister said he was yet to get the report. “We had asked for an advice from planning board. I haven’t received the file,” he added.
A senior official of the Kerala Monorail Corporation Limited said that fear of overcharging by private companies was one reason that prompted the KMCL to opt for DMRC as consultants. “If we go for global bid, we have to shell out huge amount in terms of consultancy fee. We will be missing an opportunity to get the work done in 3.5% consultancy fee,” the official said.
When pointed out that consultancy fee charged by Louis Berger group for Mumbai monorail project was just 1.5% of the total project cost, the KMCL official said that the scope for Mumbai monorail and state monorail projects was different. “As far as I know, Louis Berger group performs duties as a consultant before a turnkey consultant assumed charge. The DMRC, on the other hand, will be the turnkey consultant which performs consultancy as well as construction services,” the official said.
The KMLC official, however, admitted that DMRC’s demands such as 3.5 % consultancy fee, disagreement on inclusion of performance guarantee, time of payment etc were unacceptable. “Our duty is to negotiate terms with the DMRC. After the board meeting, we will submit a report to the government. The cabinet will take the final decision,” he said.
DMRC principal advisor E Sreedharan will attend the KMCL meeting on April 17.
Thiruvananthapuram: PWD minister V K Ebrahim Kunju on Friday said that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was selected as general consultants for the monorail projects in the state considering its ‘popularity’. He said it was people’s choice to appoint E Sreedharan as the head of the projects and the government took a stand ‘not to displease anyone’.
He was replying to TOI’s queries on the exorbitant consultancy fee demanded by the DMRC for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode monorail projects. While the industry standard for monorail consultancy is only one to two per cent, DMRC demands 3.5% of the estimate as consultancy fee.
Kunju said the government has not ruled out the option of global competitive bid. “We have not ruled out option for global tender. We will consider that too in the full board meeting of Kerala Monorail Corporation Limited, which will be held on April 17,” the minister said.
When asked about the planning board advice to go for global bidding, the minister said he was yet to get the report. “We had asked for an advice from planning board. I haven’t received the file,” he added.
A senior official of the Kerala Monorail Corporation Limited said that fear of overcharging by private companies was one reason that prompted the KMCL to opt for DMRC as consultants. “If we go for global bid, we have to shell out huge amount in terms of consultancy fee. We will be missing an opportunity to get the work done in 3.5% consultancy fee,” the official said.
When pointed out that consultancy fee charged by Louis Berger group for Mumbai monorail project was just 1.5% of the total project cost, the KMCL official said that the scope for Mumbai monorail and state monorail projects was different. “As far as I know, Louis Berger group performs duties as a consultant before a turnkey consultant assumed charge. The DMRC, on the other hand, will be the turnkey consultant which performs consultancy as well as construction services,” the official said.
The KMLC official, however, admitted that DMRC’s demands such as 3.5 % consultancy fee, disagreement on inclusion of performance guarantee, time of payment etc were unacceptable. “Our duty is to negotiate terms with the DMRC. After the board meeting, we will submit a report to the government. The cabinet will take the final decision,” he said.
DMRC principal advisor E Sreedharan will attend the KMCL meeting on April 17.
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