LAHORE: The Jinnah Hospital Lahore has blacklisted a private firm in Pakistan for blatantly violating the contract agreement of supplying medical equipment for the completion of two modular operation theatres at the healthcare facility.

The punishment was awarded to the M/s Biotech Pakistan on the recommendations of a six-member committee of senior doctors, admin officials and the technical experts of the medical teaching institute.

Headed by neurosurgery department head Prof Manoor Ahmad, the committee comprised the director purchase, biomedical engineers, the deputy superintendent and other officers/officials.

The firm had failed to pay the demurrages/penalties imposed by the customs authorities for not getting the imported medical equipment cleared. Consequently, the authorities auctioned the imported medical equipment, declaring the firm defaulter, hindering the operation threatres project.

In its strongly-worded recommendations, the committee declared that the firm had shown non-professional attitude and failed to complete the project despite repeated reminders sent to it during the last five years. It also recommended “strict administrative/legal actions” against the firm as per rules and regulations for its failure to follow the contract agreement to provide critical facilities for the neuro patients.

A copy of the relevant documents available with Dawn, show the company’s scale of negligence towards over Rs398 million project, caused five-year delay in its completion.

Following the recommendations, the Jinnah Hospital blacklisted the company under rule No 21 of PPRA-Rules 2014, sending the case to the Punjab health department to upload it on the websites of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and the health department.

“The competent authority has, in exercise of the powers conferred under Rule-21 (1) on PPRA-Rules 2014, hereby blacklisted M/S Biotech Pakistan for a three-year period for participating in any public procurement processes of any of the public sector organisation in Pakistan, including the procuring agency”, reads the letter of the Jinnah Hospital Lahore medical superintendent.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2022

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