Kathmandu, August 1

The government blacklisted 46 companies in the last fiscal year for flouting rules and regulations related to procurement and construction.

The Public Procurement Management Office (PPMO), under the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, has said that the blacklisted companies were engaged in civil works, consulting and supply of goods.

According to PPMO, 37 civil firms had been blacklisted as of July 16. Meanwhile nine goods suppliers were blacklisted by the office for violating rules and regulations in review period.

As per data maintained by PPMO, altogether 266 firms have been blacklisted till now.

Rajan Nepal, undersecretary at the PPMO, informed that the office blacklisted four firms, including two Chinese companies named Shenzhen Farad Electric Co Ltd and Huizhou Zhongcheng Electronic Technology Co Ltd, for violating rules based on the recommendation of Nepal Electricity Authority.

Nepal further said that if any company that has received the government’s tender does not complete the work within the stipulated timeframe or does not maintain the required quality, the government has the right to blacklist that company for one to three years as per the seriousness of the violation. This means that the blacklisted firms cannot compete for government tender until they are removed from the list.

“Our aim is to maintain strong discipline in bidding and construction process,” Nepal said, adding that PPMO has the right to immediately crack down on errant firms based on the recommendation of various government agencies.

According to Nepal, the PPMO developed separate guidelines for blacklisting and removing the companies from the list last year. “Since this provision was introduced, we have witnessed marked improvement in the performance of the companies.”

Currently, PPMO has been blacklisting firms based on the recommendations of the implementing agencies of different ministries. The firms can, however, be removed from the list earlier than the defined period if the implementing agencies make such a recommendation.