The 151st meeting of the National Procurement Commission (NPC) presided by H.E Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, was held on Saturday afternoon, May 26th, 2018 at the Presidential Palace.
At the beginning of the meeting, Ahmed Bilal Qarizadah, Director of the National Procurement Commission Secretariat (NPCS) and the designated Head of the Committee for the contracts of residence, food and land transportation for the Afghan Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia along with members of the committee, presented his report to the NPC about the contracts procured for better facilities for the Afghan Pilgrims via tendering more reasonable Mr. Qarizadah informed that unlike the past years, the contracts for the residence, food and land transportation for Afghan Pilgrims have been undertaken based on standard procedural documents this year with consideration of better quality and reasonable prices. He also added that this year, during the Hajj rituals, better residences, favorable food and better land transportation for the Hajjis have been allocated.
Mr. Qarizadah added that about $ 1.6 million have been saved in these contracts compared to costs and prices incurred last year on the same contracts., not to mention that tax has been increased in Saudi Arabia. The committee members have made specific suggestions and recommendations in their report for further betterment of Hajj services in the coming years as well.
H.E. the President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan expressed his gratitude for the effective measures taken by the committee and emphasized on proper monitoring of service provision during the rituals of the Hajj,. His Excellency also approved the committee's recommendation to be considered.
Subsequently, the NPC reviewed the projects on the agenda, which resulted in approval of the 4 contracts worth more than 15.4 million USD. These contracts include added resources in the citizen charter program in Takhar and Badakhshan provinces, firefighting equipment and accessories required by Emergency Department of the Ministry of Defense and the cost increase modification of Armalek to Lamaan road and the animal husbandry development project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL).
In addition, the NPC approved the time extension for the phase II construction of the Kabul-Logar road, the Kandahar airport`s road, and the procurement of chair and table for school students in 13 provinces of Afghanistan.
However, the NPC rejected the award of the contract of Shorabah dam in Sar-e-Pol province to the proposed Russian company, and decided to re-open the bidding process through restricted tendering method among other credible international companies. It should be noted that regarding the construction of building of Herat Medical University, the NPC decided that since these projects have not been completed for many years, the re-bidding process must be reinitiated as soon as possible.
Finally, the NPC reviewed the proposal of the Ministry of Defense regarding the military vehicle’s equipment, tire and trailer equipment, and decide that a committee from of the Ministries of Economy, Finance, Attorney General Office and National Procurement Authority (NPA), are assigned to assess the goods, costs, and the budget in the light of the NPC’s instructions.
In this meeting, H.E Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, H.E. Mohammad Sarwar Danish, the Second Vice President, Ministers of Finance, Economy and Acting Minister of Justice, officials of the National Procurement Authority (NPA), national and international observers including the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Caucus (PACC), Integrity Watch Afghanistan(IWA), the Finance, Budget and National Economy Commissions of the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga), and the Combined Security Transition Command for Afghanistan- CSTCA of the Resolute Support, had also participated.
>>> READ minutes of the 151st meeting of NPC @ https://www.facebook.com/NationalProcurementAuthority/posts/1722487067837281
At the beginning of the meeting, Ahmed Bilal Qarizadah, Director of the National Procurement Commission Secretariat (NPCS) and the designated Head of the Committee for the contracts of residence, food and land transportation for the Afghan Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia along with members of the committee, presented his report to the NPC about the contracts procured for better facilities for the Afghan Pilgrims via tendering more reasonable Mr. Qarizadah informed that unlike the past years, the contracts for the residence, food and land transportation for Afghan Pilgrims have been undertaken based on standard procedural documents this year with consideration of better quality and reasonable prices. He also added that this year, during the Hajj rituals, better residences, favorable food and better land transportation for the Hajjis have been allocated.
Mr. Qarizadah added that about $ 1.6 million have been saved in these contracts compared to costs and prices incurred last year on the same contracts., not to mention that tax has been increased in Saudi Arabia. The committee members have made specific suggestions and recommendations in their report for further betterment of Hajj services in the coming years as well.
H.E. the President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan expressed his gratitude for the effective measures taken by the committee and emphasized on proper monitoring of service provision during the rituals of the Hajj,. His Excellency also approved the committee's recommendation to be considered.
Subsequently, the NPC reviewed the projects on the agenda, which resulted in approval of the 4 contracts worth more than 15.4 million USD. These contracts include added resources in the citizen charter program in Takhar and Badakhshan provinces, firefighting equipment and accessories required by Emergency Department of the Ministry of Defense and the cost increase modification of Armalek to Lamaan road and the animal husbandry development project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL).
In addition, the NPC approved the time extension for the phase II construction of the Kabul-Logar road, the Kandahar airport`s road, and the procurement of chair and table for school students in 13 provinces of Afghanistan.
However, the NPC rejected the award of the contract of Shorabah dam in Sar-e-Pol province to the proposed Russian company, and decided to re-open the bidding process through restricted tendering method among other credible international companies. It should be noted that regarding the construction of building of Herat Medical University, the NPC decided that since these projects have not been completed for many years, the re-bidding process must be reinitiated as soon as possible.
Finally, the NPC reviewed the proposal of the Ministry of Defense regarding the military vehicle’s equipment, tire and trailer equipment, and decide that a committee from of the Ministries of Economy, Finance, Attorney General Office and National Procurement Authority (NPA), are assigned to assess the goods, costs, and the budget in the light of the NPC’s instructions.
In this meeting, H.E Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, H.E. Mohammad Sarwar Danish, the Second Vice President, Ministers of Finance, Economy and Acting Minister of Justice, officials of the National Procurement Authority (NPA), national and international observers including the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Caucus (PACC), Integrity Watch Afghanistan(IWA), the Finance, Budget and National Economy Commissions of the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga), and the Combined Security Transition Command for Afghanistan- CSTCA of the Resolute Support, had also participated.
>>> READ minutes of the 151st meeting of NPC @ https://www.facebook.com/NationalProcurementAuthority/posts/1722487067837281