Bids for the completion of contract no 1/A in the Ankara great channel (BAKAY) project have come in too high for the Ankara Water & Sewerage Administration (ASKI), according to contracting sources. Invitations to bid for the work may be sent out for a third time, they add.

The low bidder for the work in October was the local Yuksel with a price of TL 642,411 million ($18.3 million - MEED 28:10:94). This was about 60 per cent higher than the client had expected for the World Bank-supported contract. ASKI is discussing the bids with the World Bank. For the second set of invitations in the summer there were seven other local bids, but the three shortlisted foreign firms declined to bid.

The project is the construction of around 5.8 kilometres of foul sewer in diameters of 2,600 millimetres and 3,000 millimetres in an alluvial plain near the Ankara river. The previous contractor, the local Sukru Ezen with Seki, failed to complete the work.

ASKI is also evaluating prequalification applications for five general contracts for stormwater drainage and foul sewerage, valued at a total of about $66 million. Applications from 19 companies were submitted by the closing date of 30 September.