Business

A multi-billion rupee government tender to supply vehicle number plates is mired in controversy after the two lowest bidders were disqualified on technical grounds, paving the way for the contract to be awarded to the highest bidder at a potential loss of over Rs. 500 million to the state. The move comes as a crisis brews on the roads, with industry sources estimating that over 200,000 vehicles are currently operating without government-issued number plates, creating a significant backlog and potential security concerns. The procurement process, which has been fraught with delays and changes to tender conditions, is now stalled after the two rejected companies, including the lowest bidder Access International (Pvt) Ltd and the second-lowest bidder Metropolitan Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, filed appeals with the Procurement Appeal Board (PAB). Speaking Commissioner General for the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT), Kamal Amarasinghe, confirmed the appeals. "Two companies have appealed the decision to award the contract," he stated. At the heart of the dispute is the rejection of Access International and Metropolitan Technologies, the lowest bids by a significant margin. Government sources confirmed the bids were rejected based on a test report from the University of Moratuwa (UOM), which found that the sample aluminum plate failed to meet the required "elongation at break" specification of 6%. The university's test allegedly found the sample's value to be 3.59%. However, the decision and the testing process itself has come under heavy fire. Access International Project Director, George Lopez, confirmed that the company has filed an appeal. The company's aluminum is supplied by the Aditya Birla Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate and one of the world's largest producers of aluminum. "We were totally surprised with our rejection because our Aluminum manufacturer, the Aditya Birla group which supplied the required Aluminum to produce number plates for Sri Lanka since 2009. When queried about the evaluation and the testing of samples he mentioned that he is not able to comment as the procurement process is still ongoing. To contact the relevant person from Metropolitan Technologies for a comment proved unsuccessful. Defending the evaluation process, DMT Commissioner General Amarasinghe noted that this was not the first time the UOM had been tasked with such an evaluation. "The UOM carried the same evaluation in the 2019 tender," he said. When asked how many vehicles are currently awaiting number plates, Amarasinghe did not provide an exact figure. However, the backlog is a growing concern for motorists and law enforcement. The financial implications of awarding the tender to the highest evaluated bidder South Asian Technologies, who currently remains as the only bidder, is quite stark. Their bid of Rs. 2.59 billion is over Rs. 516 million higher than that of the lowest bidder. Industry sources warn that this cost will ultimately be passed to the general public. Moreover, the vehicle import restrictions now lifted, the true financial loss to the state could escalate to nearly Rs. 1 billion over the contract period once the backlog for number plates is cleared. With the process now gridlocked, all bidders have been requested to extend their bid bonds for another three months, signaling a further delay in resolving the number plate crisis. The tender remains in limbo, leaving hundreds of thousands of motorists in the lurch and raising serious questions about the transparency and integrity of the procurement vital to national administration and security.