New Delhi : About 200 professionals including consulting engineers, stakeholders in government, policy makers  and representatives of construction and infrastructure firms will take part in a day-long seminar on “Goodbye L1 – A Route to Sustainable Engineering Development’’, being organized as part of the World Engineering Day celebrations in New Delhi on March 4, 2020.

The Seminar to be inaugurated by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Mr Nitin Gadkari is being jointly organized by  the Consulting Engineers Association of India (CEAI) which is member of International  Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) with the support of NITI Aayog, MoRTH, Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA),  Engineering Council of India (ECI), and Institute of Engineers (IEI), CIDC and with the participation of NHAI, CPWD and  MES.  Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog will be the Guest of Honour.

“The delegates attending the seminar will be discussing about the L1 system of procurement or works which is the basic root cause for cost escalations, time overruns and arbitrations in many of the projects. This Seminar is an effort to highlight the ills of L1 system prevalent in the government departments, ministries, public sector undertakings (PSUs) for over 70 years and to substitute it with a workable approach. With the increased realisation about the shortcomings of the L1 method in the Government agencies like Central Vigilance Commission, it is an opportune moment to revisit L1 method to move towards an all-inclusive public procurement strategy in sync with a rapidly changing world, which calls for complex technological solutions at best prices for the larger public good.” said Mr Amitabha Ghoshal, President, CEAI.

“L1 Method may not be the most appropriate and suitable method of awarding a Contract.. It is well founded that the current Contract tendering system by government and public undertakings based on Least Cost Selection method has shortcomings given the number of infrastructure and other projects facing concerns of delay,  quality and disputes, ultimately leading to time consuming arbitration and higher costs” Said Mr K K Kapila, Past President and Chairman of CEAI’s Infrastructure Committee and Former Executive Committee Member of The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC).

’The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), as an Institution has been deeply interested in the processes used in selection of contractors for different kinds of works since the outcome and completion of contracts reflect ultimately on the design and supervision effort of the engineers. FIDIC has been advocating appropriate methodology of selection of Contractors and Consultants to ensure that the Client gets optimal value for his investment along with assured quality and timely completion of projects“Mr Kapila said .

In September 2017, FIDIC came out with the document on Proposed Alternative Mechanisms to Award Construction Works Contracts based on ‘’Lowest Workable Cost’’, rather than the ‘’Least Cost” approach. In this work, FIDIC had recommended following three approaches, keeping in view the aspects of quality, cost and timelines.  Lowest Workable Cost Approach (this approach is to identify an appropriate bidder with reasonable cost) Cost and Quality Approach (weightage of technical and cost score applied) Selection based on Quality Approach (selection based on highest technical score)

 

 “Depending upon the complexity of the project and as is felt suitable to the nation concerned, FIDIC recommends that the Employer can adopt any of the above approaches which is intended towards promoting innovation, quality and adherence to timelines for completion of the works.” Mr Kapila added.

Some of the eminent speakers expected to join the seminar include Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan, Secretary (RT&H), Mr. A.K. Ghosh, JS Highways, Mr. Azad Ali, L&T ECC, Mr. Sunil Mishra, DG, IEEMA, Mr. Arun Mohan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Mr. Sudanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary (MOC&I), Mr. Shailendra Singh, CTO, CVC Mr. R. K. Pandey, Member (Projects), NHAI, Dr. S. K. Saha, Advisor, NITI Aayog, Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, Ministry of Finance.

CEAI-IIC Seminar

‘’Goodbye L1 – a Route to Sustainable Engineering Development”

Date : Wednesday, 4th March 2020

Venue : C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre, Main Building,

40, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi – 110 003

 

09:00 – 10:00    Registration and Networking Tea

10:00 – 11:15    Inaugural Session

                        Welcome Address         Mr. Amitabha Ghoshal, President CEAI

                        Setting the Context        Mr. K.K. Kapila, Chairman Infrastructure Committee, CEAI

                        Guest of Honour           Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog

                        Chief Guest                   Hon. Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari

                        Vote of Thanks             Ms. Sayona Philip, Immediate Past President, CEAI

11:15 – 11:30    Networking Tea

11:30 – 13:00    Business Session 1 : L1 – a Need for Change

                        Chair                            Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan, Secretary (RT&H)*

                        Speaker 1                     Mr. A.K. Ghosh, JS Highways

                        Speaker 2                     Mr. Azad Ali, L&T ECC

                        Speaker 3                     Mr. Sunil Mishra, DG, IEEMA

                        Speaker 4                     Mr. Arun Mohan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

                        Speaker 5                     Mr. Ajay Pradhan, Vice President, CEAI

13:00 – 14:00    Lunch

14:00 – 15:45    Business Session 2 :L1- a Need for Change (Contd.) & Alternative Selection Methods

                        Chair                            Mr. Sudanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary (MOC&I)*

                        Speaker 1                     Lt. Gen. Ravi Shankar

                        Speaker 2                     Mr. Shailendra Singh, CTO, CVC

                        Speaker 3                     Representative, CPWD

                        Speaker 4                     Mr. R. K. Pandey, Member (Projects), NHAI

                        Speaker 5                     Mr. P. Singhal, MES

                        Speaker 6                     Mr. K. N. Shrivastava, Former Secretary, Civil Aviation

15:45 – 15:55    Short Break

15:55 – 17:00    Concluding Session : The Way Forward

                        Panellists                      Mr. Amitabha Ghoshal, President, CEAI

Mr. K. K. Kapila

                                                            Dr. S. K. Saha, Advisor, NITI Aayog

                                                            Mr. Shailendra Singh, CTO, CVC

                                                            Mr. R. K. Pandey, Member (P), NHAI

                                                            Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, Ministry of Finance