@Green March/April 2021 | Page 19

19

Peninsular Malaysia Package P1 : 1.00MWa . c . 0.3750 - to 5.99MWa . c . 0.4700 25 6 Package P2 : 6.00MWa . c . 0.3700 - to 9.99MWa . c . 0.4600 18 11

Package P3 : 10.00MWa . c . 0.3398 - to 30.00MWa . c . 0.5000 43 13

Sabah / Labuan

Total 41 / 117 bids were awarded

LSS3 Bid Prices Peninsular Malaysia only

did not aggregate to the 500MWa . c . capacity which was offered under that package , with the shortfall of 176.94MWa . c . being quite a considerable variance .

If applied towards the P2 Package , the amount of shortfall could have seen an additional three to six projects being awarded .

Some industry players have intimated that the fact that awards under the P1 Package have not met the targeted amount gives the impression that bids submitted under that package may have been of a lower standard than those offered under the P2 Package .

There may be some truth in that as the targeted amount of 500MWa . c . under the P2 Package was met with all awards made to projects of 50MWa . c ., being the maximum capacity on offer , and for bid prices which are more aggressive compared to bid prices of shortlisted bids under the P1 Package . One reason could be that bids under the P1 Package would also not be as financially attractive as under the P2 Package as projects under the P1 Package are smaller and would not have the economies of scale compared to projects under the P2 Package .

Hence , serious players ( those generally considered better placed to submit more compelling bids ) would not be as interested in participating under the P1 Package .

Conclusion

The EC appears to have met the aim of parcelling out LSS4 awards on a more “ equitable ” basis to local players , resulting in more jobs for local contractors .

However , it may have come at a price as the EC ’ s actions prohibiting foreign participation have been widely viewed as a protectionist move . That does not augur well for the economy in general

Some industry players have intimated that the fact that awards under the P1 Package have not met the targeted amount gives the impression that bids submitted under that package may have been of a lower standard than those offered under the P2 Package .”

when the nation sorely requires more foreign direct investment , especially if such investment brings with it opportunities for local players to learn from some of the best practices that could be introduced by foreign participants .

It is hoped that the EC could , in its future programmes , not only discard the protectionist stance . They should structure the plans such that awards are made to achieve maximum benefit for the nation and not only to placate those who , but for the way the LSS4 programme was structured , would not have been able to compete on an even playing field with the rest . — @ green

Total 30 / 137 bids were awarded

Ranhill Utilities Water Supply , Ranhill Utilities 50MWa . c Berhad Services and Berhad

Treatment .