23/09/2019
23/09/2019
KNPC may request for extension of tender closing date
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 22: The Council of Ministers has sent the report of the Audit Bureau concerning the ‘Dabdaba’ solar energy project to the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) for its review, reports Al-Rai daily quoting informed sources.
The sources pointed out that despite KPC responding to the Audit Bureau observations on the project, there are still differences in views, which will negatively affect the progress of the project. In light of the expiry of the tender date in mid-October, the sources said that the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) may be forced to request the extension to the tender closing date if the project is delayed to keep the ball in the court of the bidders to accept it or not especially since there already are the lowest bidders who are conforming to specifications and there is a recommendation to award the contract to the deserving party.
According to Al-Rai daily, it was the only one to publish the KPC’s response to the Bureau’s remarks in its issue dated May 6, 2019, under the title (Petroleum Corporation warns against the abolition of Dabdaba: detrimental to the reputation of Kuwait and the credibility of its oil sector) by commissioning a renewable energy plant that will have an impact on the reputation of Kuwait and the oil sector.
The KPC affirmed that it does not agree with the recommendations of the Audit Bureau regarding the cancellation of the Cabinet’s decision to commission KPC to establish a power plant from renewable energy aimed at securing 15 percent of Kuwait’s energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2030, and in the implementation of the KPC strategy and its subsidiaries concerning missions and greenhouse gases. The suspension of tender procedures is likely to lead to consequences, including the reluctance of international contractors to participate in the project and future projects related to renewable energy in Kuwait