Indo-China faceoff: Haryana cancels Chinese firms’ bids to install power plant equipment

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 20

Close on the heels of violent face-off between India and China in eastern Ladakh, the Haryana government has cancelled the international competitive bids for the installation of pollution control system at two of its power plants in which the Chinese companies were the lowest bidders.

“Though the Chinese had quoted the most-competitive rates and would have bagged the tenders yet in view of tense relations between India and China, the state government has decided to cancel the tender. Now, fresh tenders on the pattern adopted by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) which allowed firms registered in India only  to bid for domestic projects would be invited,” a senior functionary told The Tribune.

The Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) had invited international competitive bids to install “flue gas desulphurization system”, an advanced system to control pollution at the Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Station, Yamunanagar, and the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant, Hisar.

The state government received five bids for the Yamunanagar plant, of which three were from the Chinese firms while two were Indian firms, the EPIL (in collaboration with a Chinese firm), and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (in collaboration with a non-Chinese foreign firm). While for the Hisar plant, two Chinese firms and the BHEL (in collaboration with a non-Chinese foreign firm), had submitted the bid. However, the Chinese firms had submitted the lowest bid for both the plants.

On December 7, 2015, the Union  Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had come out with norms mandating installation of pollution control equipment by power plants.

Subsequently, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) was appointed as consultant which recommended international competitive bidding for the project.

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