SL Government Puts Indian Railway Construction Company In The Dock

[nForce]

Sorry but Ircon International Limited is a state PSU - a wholly owned entity of the Ministry of Railways which of course cannot be banned - It has executed projects in the following countries -

• Malaysia
• Sri Lanka
• Mozambique
• Iraq
• Iran
• Algeria
• Bangladesh
• Indonesia
• Ethiopia
• Nepal
• Afghanistan
• Turkey

Before the SL project - it was awarded a multibillion-dollar rail project in Malaysia which it did successfully execute. It has a good track record - the SL government should conclude its investigations so that the facts come out as to whether the cost-overruns were legitimate or not.

1. Nobody is above the law.
2. If there is conclusive evidence of corruption, then action will be taken.

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

1. Nobody is above the law.
2. If there is conclusive evidence of corruption, then action will be taken.

Since GoI itself happens to be a stakeholder in the project - any cost overrun will ultimately hit our own government since it is funding the same - conclusive evidence would only end up prosecuting officials involved not banning the organization but even for that let's wait for the conclusive evidence and refrain from framing IRCON till then.

 

[Godman]

Sorry but Ircon International Limited is a state PSU - a wholly owned entity of the Ministry of Railways which of course cannot be banned - It has executed projects in the following countries -

• Malaysia
• Sri Lanka
• Mozambique
• Iraq
• Iran
• Algeria
• Bangladesh
• Indonesia
• Ethiopia
• Nepal
• Afghanistan
• Turkey

Before the SL project - it was awarded a multibillion-dollar rail project in Malaysia which it did successfully execute. It has a good track record - the SL government should conclude its investigations so that the facts come out as to whether the cost-overruns were legitimate or not.

It doesn't matter what company it is, corruption was the only way to get projects.
There are lots of these incidents and some of them include some reputed comapnies

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

It doesn't matter what company it is, corruption was the only way to get projects.
There are lots of these incidents and some of them include some reputed comapnies

Looking forward to the investigations - If there is conclusive evidence of corruption, then action will be taken.

 

[Gibbs]

Yes we were - It has been completed I suppose - That 400km long Jaffna-Colombo railway line, reconstructed with Indian assistance in Sri Lanka’s former war zone, was inaugurated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa last year, 24 years after it was shut down during the civil war.

It was built under the concessionary credit line of about $800 million provided by India.

India has helped provide the state of the art tracks and bridges that can accommodate train speeds of up to 120km per hour as part of the technical support. Indian assisted other projects worth $1.63 billions are currently underway in SL.

Indian-assisted railway line opened in Sri Lanka’s former war zone - Livemint

@Gibbs I guess the project was completed last year only or there is still some construction left?

I think it's finished.. Maybe there are still small section to go.. Not sure

Btw it is Indian funded project.. Indian funding is solely concentrated to the North, While Chinese projects encompass island wide.. Another blunder in Indian policy i'm afraid, It needs to get away from Indo/Lanka relations it has through either the Tamil or the Tamil Nadu prism.. Till then there will always be certain amount of pessimism within the larger context of Sri Lankans

The question is: Why wasn't bidding carried out? The fault lies squarely with the SL government for not following proper laid down procedures.

Some SL ministers must have made a lot of money out of this project.

Yes it does.. And so goes to the Chinese funded projects.. Contrary to the attempts of the Rajapaksa regime fan boy here to point otherwise the fault lies with the corrupt regime of the then govt, Of cause both the Chinese and Indian collaborators arnt without fault either for giving in to the bribery

Looking forward to the investigations - If there is conclusive evidence of corruption, then action will be taken.

Even a massive investment by the TATA's were under question.. But i think is cleared now

Tata Housing disappointed at Sri Lanka reviewing Colombo project - timesofindia-economictimes

 

[samv]

Yes it does.. And so goes to the Chinese funded projects.. Contrary to the attempts of the Rajapaksa regime fan boy here to point otherwise the fault lies with the corrupt regime of the then govt, Of cause both the Chinese and Indian collaborators arnt without fault either for giving in to the bribery

What a f**king laugh. None of the allegations against the Chinese have been proven. Ranil has been desperately trying to find any evidence of malpractice with the Chinese Colombo City Port Project and to date neither he nor his boot lickers such as yourself have been able to show a shred of evidence.

What Ranil's followers want is $$ in their pocket. They want any tenders re-submitted so they can make cash under the table. If Ranil cared about corruption he would have done something about the biggest ever fraud to hit Sri Lanka carried out by his friend and acolyte Arjunan Mahendran.

 

[Sam.]

Nope it seems this looks like it was done at Sl govt's expense



It is also the fault of the sri lankan politicians, tenders were given for bribes . If there was no other way then IRCON had to play that way

yes i know but i will wait for the result of the committee to see who's fault it was.

 

[Godman]

yes i know but i will wait for the result of the committee to see who's fault it was.

The SL govt will not blame IRCON, they will take action against politicians and will cover up IRCON like they are doing with the chinese

 

[Sam.]

The SL govt will not blame IRCON, they will take action against politicians and will cover up IRCON like they are doing with the chinese

I guess but you guys need to fill a petition in Indian court against them. Don't be greedy help brother out

You want to remove corruption from your part and left ours (i guess those companies has to follow protocol and give bribe to minsters or no work will be done) but still something need to be done.

 

[Kaniska]

Wickremesinghe Government Puts Indian Railway Construction Company In The Dock -The New Indian Express

COLOMBO: The Ranil Wickremesinghe government in Sri Lanka has put in the dock the Indian public sector railway construction company Ircon International (IRCON), over several issues relating to the restoration of the railway system in the Northern Province between 2010 and 2015.

On the advice of a four-man committee, the Lankan cabinet has decided to review the execution of the US$ 800 million dollar Indian-funded project, and take appropriate action with the help of experts, cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told the media here on Thursday.

The investigating committee had found “enormous cost over-runs in the construction carried out by an Indian company; issues related to estimates; damages to sleepers; and defects in the buildings constructed.”

The cabinet note had refrained from naming the company though.

The committee also observed that competitive bidding had not been adopted and accordingly, government had suffered a loss.

The cabinet took a policy decision to give railway construction work to the Lankan Department of Railways from now on, and use local material and expertise to the extent possible.

Asked who is to be blamed for this, Senaratne told Express that only an inquiry will reveal it.

Political observers wondered if the issue is being raked up by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to fix former Minister of Transport, Kumara Welgama, who is now in the forefront of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance’s campaign to bring back former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to power as Prime Minister through the August 17 parliamentary elections.

Welgama was a prime mover of the railway project and fully supported IRCON to finish the work ahead of schedule. But now he is in the opposite camp supporting Rajapaksa.

However, even when Welgama was minister, the railway unions had opposed the grant of the project to IRCON on the grounds that the Lankan Railways could do the same work at less cost. But IRCON General Manager S.L.Gupta contended that given the difficulties encountered in the execution of the project and the modern technology imparted, the project could not be any cheaper. The tracks laid by IRCON could take speeds up to 120 km per hour and the rolling stock supplied was of the latest technology.

The Omanthai-Palai line (90.5 km) was started in 2010 and completed in 2013 at a cost of US$ 185.35 million. The Madu-Talaimannar stretch (63 km) was completed in three years in 2013 at a cost of US$ 149.74 km. The Medawachichiya-Madu track (43 km) was started in 2010 and completed in 2012 at a cost of US$ 81.30 million. The Palai-Kankesanthurai line (56 km) was started in 2011 and completed in 2014 at a cost of US$ 149.34 million. Signaling equipment cost US$ 86.50 million. And other expenditure, including personnel, amounted to US$ 146 million.e The project was funded by a US$ 800 million Government of India Line of Credit.

@Azizam @Godman .. Expect this thread to be infest with that venereal disease as well, But better to ignore and stick to the discussion

Good for you...Make sure that there is no corruption or leakage of money...

 

[Echo_419]

Wickremesinghe Government Puts Indian Railway Construction Company In The Dock -The New Indian Express

COLOMBO: The Ranil Wickremesinghe government in Sri Lanka has put in the dock the Indian public sector railway construction company Ircon International (IRCON), over several issues relating to the restoration of the railway system in the Northern Province between 2010 and 2015.

On the advice of a four-man committee, the Lankan cabinet has decided to review the execution of the US$ 800 million dollar Indian-funded project, and take appropriate action with the help of experts, cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told the media here on Thursday.

The investigating committee had found “enormous cost over-runs in the construction carried out by an Indian company; issues related to estimates; damages to sleepers; and defects in the buildings constructed.”

The cabinet note had refrained from naming the company though.

The committee also observed that competitive bidding had not been adopted and accordingly, government had suffered a loss.

The cabinet took a policy decision to give railway construction work to the Lankan Department of Railways from now on, and use local material and expertise to the extent possible.

Asked who is to be blamed for this, Senaratne told Express that only an inquiry will reveal it.

Political observers wondered if the issue is being raked up by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to fix former Minister of Transport, Kumara Welgama, who is now in the forefront of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance’s campaign to bring back former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to power as Prime Minister through the August 17 parliamentary elections.

Welgama was a prime mover of the railway project and fully supported IRCON to finish the work ahead of schedule. But now he is in the opposite camp supporting Rajapaksa.

However, even when Welgama was minister, the railway unions had opposed the grant of the project to IRCON on the grounds that the Lankan Railways could do the same work at less cost. But IRCON General Manager S.L.Gupta contended that given the difficulties encountered in the execution of the project and the modern technology imparted, the project could not be any cheaper. The tracks laid by IRCON could take speeds up to 120 km per hour and the rolling stock supplied was of the latest technology.

The Omanthai-Palai line (90.5 km) was started in 2010 and completed in 2013 at a cost of US$ 185.35 million. The Madu-Talaimannar stretch (63 km) was completed in three years in 2013 at a cost of US$ 149.74 km. The Medawachichiya-Madu track (43 km) was started in 2010 and completed in 2012 at a cost of US$ 81.30 million. The Palai-Kankesanthurai line (56 km) was started in 2011 and completed in 2014 at a cost of US$ 149.34 million. Signaling equipment cost US$ 86.50 million. And other expenditure, including personnel, amounted to US$ 146 million. The project was funded by a US$ 800 million Government of India Line of Credit.

@Azizam @Godman .. Expect this thread to be infest with that venereal disease as well, But better to ignore and stick to the discussion

This clearly shows SL has a independent govt
On topic
Dismiss the company if it is found to be involved in corruption

I think it's finished.. Maybe there are still small section to go.. Not sure

Btw it is Indian funded project.. Indian funding is solely concentrated to the North, While Chinese projects encompass island wide.. Another blunder in Indian policy i'm afraid, It needs to get away from Indo/Lanka relations it has through either the Tamil or the Tamil Nadu prism.. Till then there will always be certain amount of pessimism within the larger context of Sri Lankans



Yes it does.. And so goes to the Chinese funded projects.. Contrary to the attempts of the Rajapaksa regime fan boy here to point otherwise the fault lies with the corrupt regime of the then govt, Of cause both the Chinese and Indian collaborators arnt without fault either for giving in to the bribery



Even a massive investment by the TATA's were under question.. But i think is cleared now

Tata Housing disappointed at Sri Lanka reviewing Colombo project - timesofindia-economictimes

The new govt is highly transparent & will obivosly look.for the best untreat of SL but I confident that we will come clean also you are right about our funding only being limited to north SL

 

[SrNair]

Action should take against the company if thetyhave corruption in this project.