“Sinohydro committed an amount of NPR 15.07 billion including value-added tax, and Jiangxi-ANK committed NPR 13.73 billion.”

The government has awarded the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction-1 (EPC) contract for the civil and hydromechanical works of the 106-megawatt Jagdulla Hydropower Project, which is to be constructed in Dolpa, to a Chinese-Nepali joint venture company - Jiangxi Construction Engineering (Group) Corporation and ANK Construction.”

“Based on the evaluation of the technical proposals, Jiangxi Construction Engineering (Group) Corporation (China) and ANK Construction Nepal JV, along with Sinohydro Corporation, were shortlisted for the financial proposal stage.”

“The contract was awarded to the joint venture of Jiangxi Construction Engineering (Group) Corporation (China) and ANK Construction Nepal after they submitted the lowest bid in the financial proposal opened by the Jagdulla Company on Wednesday. According to a company source, Sinohydro had quoted NPR 15.07 billion including value-added tax (VAT), while Jiangxi and ANK had quoted NPR 13.73 billion.”

“Based on the lower bid amount, it is certain that Jiangxi and ANK will be awarded the contract, but the evaluation is still pending,” the source said. “The final decision will be made after the financial proposal is evaluated, and the agreement will proceed accordingly.” Jagdulla Limited had called for the project’s contract process for the second time on January 20.

“In addition to the Jiangxi and ANK JV, Sinohydro, the Siu Infrastructure and High Himalaya Hydro Construction JV, and the Fewa Construction and Tuemji Insaat Medinclak JV had also submitted applications. On April 22, the company issued a notice stating that the Jiangxi and ANK JV, along with Sinohydro Corporation, were qualified for the financial proposal stage based on the evaluation of technical proposals.”

In response to a petition filed against the re-invited contract process for the 106-megawatt Jagdulla Hydropower Project, which the government itself is constructing in Dolpa, the Patan High Court on Tuesday issued a show cause order to the company.”

The petition was filed on Monday by another applicant, Siu Infrastructure and High Himalaya Hydro Construction JV, claiming that the evaluation committee of Jagdulla Company disqualified their technical proposal in violation of Rules 61 and 62 of the Public Procurement Regulations, 2007.”

“The JV has named Jagdulla Hydropower Company and its bid evaluation committee as the opposing parties. The petitioner claims that disclosing the bid amounts submitted by bidders during the technical proposal evaluation stage has rendered the entire procurement process invalid. Therefore, the writ petition requested an interim order to cancel the notice issued for the opening of the financial proposal based on the technical evaluation and to keep the entire procurement process in status quo.”

While hearing the writ, a single bench of Justice Tankaprasad Gurung of the High Court has issued an order for the company to appear along with a show cause notice. The court’s order also mentions that Jagdulla Company must submit a written response within 15 days. The petitioner claims that the disclosure of the bid amounts during the technical proposal evaluation stage has violated confidentiality and made the entire process invalid.”

The petitioner claims in the writ petition that due to a clear error in the evaluation and testing process of the EPC-1 tender under Section 32(3), Section 34 of the Public Procurement Act, and Rule 61(3) of the Regulations, the entire procurement process has become invalid. Therefore, the petitioner requests the court to issue an order under Article 144(1)(2) of the Constitution of Nepal, annulling the illegal notice published on as April 22, 2025, by the defendant public entity, based on the technical proposal evaluation, and to cancel the entire process, calling for a fresh tender in the name of the defendant public entity.”

Siu and High Himalaya JV have requested an interim order in the names of the opposing parties, asking the court to halt the tender evaluation, opening of financial proposals, approval of bids, and the procurement agreement process until the final resolution of their case. The court has called both parties for a discussion on May 13.”

“A complaint regarding the Jagdulla contract process has also been filed with the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). An official from the CIAA confirmed the complaint and mentioned that an investigation is ongoing, so they cannot make any statements at this time. An official from the PPMO stated that while no formal complaint has been received, they are studying the concerns raised.”

The contract process for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) under Civil and Hydromechanical works, called by the company on June 2, 2024 , was canceled after it became embroiled in controversy. Seven companies had applied for the contract, including High Himalayan Hydro and AGE Company JV, Sharma and Zhongding International JV, Rail Development Corporation, Patel Engineering and Lama Construction JV, Ramechhap Sherpa Construction and Soma Enterprises JV, Sinohydro, Om Infra, and Fewa Construction JV. However, after no company passed the technical proposal evaluation, Jagdulla Company claimed that the contract was canceled on January 6.

At that time, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka was accused of mediating in collusion to award the contract to the High Himalayan Hydro and AGE Company JV, sidelining all the other companies that had applied. The total cost of the Jagdulla project is estimated to be NPR 23 billion. For this project, Nabil Bank is set to invest NPR 4.4 billion, the Employees Provident Fund is investing NPR 4 billion, Hydro Electricity Investment and Development Company Limited (HEIDCL) is investing NPR 4 billion, Laxmi Sunrise Bank is investing NPR 2 billion, and Everest Bank is investing NPR 1.5 billion.

Source: Kantipur