Ethiopian Railway Corporation requested bid winners to submit design and survey in five months.

By HAILU TEKLEHAIMANOT
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER

The Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC) has given the 18 companies, which have won the bid for the design, survey, and supervision of four railway tracks, five months to deliver the first two.  

Projected to cost around 180 million Br, the design of a total of 1,833.6km of railway was awarded to 18 companies at the end of September 2010. Consultants of Category III and above were approached by ERC months ago to express interest for the projects which comprise a total of 18 lots.

Those which had shown interest were evaluated on its similar experience over the past 10 years, professional staff, annual turnover of the last five years, and available facilities.

After the evaluation many had made bids for the project, the first of its kind in magnitude and scope, in droves. Although around 100 companies attended the opening of the financial proposals in August 2010, only a few were awarded design bids and still fewer consultants won lots.

It was later decided by the government that each company will do only one lot and they were distributed to those who came in second during the initial bids, according to sources who work for one of the consultants which had taken part but wanted to remain anonymous as they were not authorised to comment. more