Contractors have accused the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) of flouting procurement laws in the award of a Ksh960 million tender for the repair of Terminals 1B and 1C at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The Ksh963,541,535 was awarded to China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation, but according to contractors, the firm is either non-existent or operated by state operatives.
In a complaint filed with the Procurement Administrative Review Board by Ms Flooring & Interior, which prepared a joint bid with other local contractors, the contractors say that the winning contractor trades under different names, which is against the law.
For instance, it is reported that China Jiangxi International Economic submitted bid for the tender, but China Jiangxi International Economic won the tender instead.
Read: KAA Announces Auction Of Aircrafts At Wilson For As Low As Ksh94,000
“Looking at the tender register, China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation did not submit a bid. However, another entity China Jiangxi International Economic is indicated to have submitted,” suit papers read in part.
Among the 15 companies that had submitted bids for the tender include Shaanxi Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering (Ksh960 million), China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (Ksh975million) and China Wu Yi Co Ltd (Ksh752 million).
“Its existence is in serious doubt thus necessitating the intervention of the Board to ascertain the true position and safeguard public interest and the interests of other bidders,” added the suit.
China Jiangxi International Economic is the same company that was demanding a Ksh6.9 billion compensation claim from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for the stalled construction of Hazina Trade Centre.
The suit states that KAA did not allow representatives from bidding companies on grounds that due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, the tender opening would be done internally and the results made known to the bidders on notice.
The complainants want the winning bidder declared as a non-existent entity and one that did not submit its bid for the tender in line with the requirements of the tender.
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