NCP shortlists 11 bidders for Kaduna, Afam power firms
The National Council on Privatisation ( NCP) has prequalified 11 for Kaduna Distribution Company Plc (KDC) and Afam Power Generating Company Plc(APGC) .
Seven out of the 11 companies that submitted quotations for the KDC Plc and four out of the nine companies that bid for the APGC Plc were pre-qualified by the technical evaluation of the National Council of Privatisation (NCP).
The council, chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo, also announced that three firms that would participate in the final liquidation of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its mobile wing, M-Tel had been selected.
Companies pre-qualified for the power companies have been invited to the financial bid opening at a date to be announced.
The selected companies include Axis Power Distribution Limited; Nahco Consortium; Incar Power Limited; Aiteco Consortium; LEDA Consortium; Northwest Power Limited and Copperbelt Consortium.
For the Afam GENCO Plc, Primeniza Energy Limited; Televeras Group; Foby Energy Limited and TES Power Limited were pre-qualified for the financial bid opening stage after the submission of the required qualification security.
The Chairman of the Technical Committee of NCP, Mr. Atedo Peterside, who briefed state house correspondents said the list of the successful companies would be reviewed if the information contained in their submissions proved to be at variance with the reality on the ground.
According to him, a bidding firm needs to score 75 per cent or 750 or 1000 to be considered successful.
Peterside, an accomplished banker, said that only those which passed that would be invited for the financial bid opening that would be televised live for Nigerians to witness.
He said, 'Let me also explain that like in any other contract process, we do the evaluation as best as we can. But there is something called continuous due diligence and the rules are very clear in the sense that people have made submissions, we have scored them based on the information they gave but if you still find for instance that the information he gave you is at variance with the reality, they can still be disqualified.
'This means that even though we have announced the names of those who passed, if it turns out that in any aspect of their submission they have given false information, they can still be disqualified.'
Peterside said the council also considered the privatization of NITEL and M-Tel.
He recalled that the NCP had previously approved that it should proceed with guided liquidation of the companies which was a similar process that was used for the defunct National Fertiliser Company of Nigeria (NAFCON) that later became Notore.
The technical committee chairman said, 'Guided liquidation does not mean that everything is dead, it means that you finish up with one new owner and you also get rid of the liabilities simultaneously, it is all about managing liabilities.
'For that sector, what has happened is that we have looked at the possible liquidators and three firms were approved. There is no winner yet, because they will go to the mini-opening of the financials and eventually one form will emerge as the winner and the name will be made public.'
He, however, declined to name the companies, insisting that it was not the practice of the council to name the identities of consultants and its advisers until they have emerged as winners.