Under the selection criterion, the lowest bidder was supposed to be appointed the financial consultant. But the GoM had other ideas and instead asked the bidders to submit detailed presentations on their technical capabilities.
At the end of the 10-minute long presentations by the bidders on November 18, it was clear that E&Y would not have a smooth ride. For, the GoM liked what ABN Amro had to say on its technical expertise in airport privatisation globally.
Selecting ABN Amro would have meant violating the tender conditions. The GoM, at this juncture, referred the entire selection process to the law ministry for its opinion.
On November 30, the law ministry informed the civil aviation ministry that legally the lowest bidder could not be rejected under the original terms of the tender. The civil aviation ministry then asked for fresh bids for financial consultants on December 1, leaving some of the bidders unhappy.
It will now change the tender conditions to ensure that technical proficiency -- and not financial bids -- be the sole criterion now. The fee for the financial consultant will be decided by the ministry after affixing the quantum of work required to be done.
A dozen consultants, including Lazard India, PricewaterhouseCoopers, ANZ Grindlays and Tata Economic Consultancy had submitted Expressions of Interest for the project on October 20, of which five firms, including KPMG, ABN Amro, Ernst & Young, TEC and PricewaterhouseCoopers, were selected.
The final three were selected on the basis of the evaluation of the technical presentations made by the consultants to the civil aviation ministry and Airports Authority of India.
