The Supreme Court conducted the closing hearing on the contract termination dispute between the Works and Human Settlement Ministry and Gaseb Construction Company yesterday. The Supreme Court granted permission for both the parties in the hearing to summarise and submit their petitions once again before the court of law.
The appellant Gaseb Construction Company submitted that the Ministry of Works and Human Settlemen (MoWHS) re-tendered and awarded the works, despite the case being under litigation. The company also said the ministry is yet to pay the company for the work done. The company, as per its submission, stated that the ministry included a new clause in the Exclusion Criteria in contract documents about a year ago. This has refrained the company from taking part in bidding for new works.
On the other hand, the legal representatives of the ministry are requesting the court to go with the National Arbitration Centre decision on the compensation claims which amounts to Nu 40.8 m. They justified, the ongoing case, if decided in favour of the company, could set precedence and defeat the purpose of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of Bhutan 2013. They said the High Court has already dismissed the company’s petition and upheld the decision of the National Arbitration Centre.
Also, the ministry said the company’s compensation claim of over Nu 360 m, which is more than the bid amount, is baseless. Instead, officials said Gaseb Construction Company should refund over Nu 136 m to the ministry.
Gaseb Construction Company and an Indian Company were awarded the construction of 31 kilometres of the 80-kilometre Dalbari-Dagapela Highway in 2014. Investigations began following a complaint to the Anti-Corruption Commission on the awards of the contract. In March 2015, the ministry terminated the contract as the ACC recommended the ministry to re-evaluate the tender or revoke the contract.
