The commencement of work on the fourth airport in the State in Kannur is likely to be delayed following the row over the selection of the project consultant and the subsequent resignation of the managing director (MD) of Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL).
Special Officer for Kannur airport and MD of KIAL V. Thulasidas has submitted his papers in the wake of an adverse media report against him and his colleagues following the cancellation of the consultancy agreement with Mumbai-based STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd.
The agreement signed with STUP, appointing it as the project consultant, was cancelled after it was found that the RFP (request for proposal) conditions had been violated by the Indo-French consortium.
Mr. Thulasidas, former chairman and managing director of Air India, submitted his resignation to Minister for Ports and Airports K. Babu after announcing that fresh bids would be invited for selecting the project consultant.
He has also written to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy citing the reasons for his decision.
COST FACTOR
Sources told The Hindu that the project consultant agreement for Rs.14.3 crore was signed with STUP after a transparent bidding process and as per the guidelines of the Planning Commission when Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL) had demanded Rs.105 crore for the same.
Though a decision on the resignation will be taken only this week, the sudden developments will affect the work on the airport.
STUP has already approached the High Court of Kerala challenging the cancellation of the agreement with KIAL.
Sources said the government was putting pressure on Mr. Thulasidas to continue in the post as it wanted to use his expertise in the aviation field.
The resignation of Mr. Thulasidas and decision to call for fresh bids to select the project consultant will come up at the board meeting scheduled in Kochi on Tuesday.
The cancellation of the agreement came after it was found that STUP was blacklisted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board when it submitted bids for the Kannur project.
In May, KIAL had asked CIAL to revise the detailed project report (DPR) in the wake of the technical flaws in the DPR. Sources said this had invited the wrath of the CIAL. CIAL was entrusted with the task of preparing the DPR after the Airports Authority of India failed to give the report in time.
Sources said CIAL was yet to submit the revised DPR. With all this, the plans to operate the first flight from Kannur by 2014 had run into rough weather.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article3878168.ece
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