The World Bank has debarred a giant Chinese contractor for 20 months for making false claims when bidding for a project in the Republic of Zambia.
China Energy Engineering Group Hunan Electric Power Design Institute (CEEC-HEPDI) will be ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects during the debarment period.
The bank accused the company of falsifying documents describing its past contract experience, litigation history and business credentials. It was bidding – successfully – for a $210m scheme to improve the transmission of electricity in the Lusaka area of Zambia.
CEEC-HEPDI is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and employs more than 160,000 people.
Also listed in the debarment for the same period are a number of subsidiary companies: Hunan Kechuang Power Engineering Technology, Hunan Kexin Electric Power Design and Hunan Zhongtian Engineering Supervision.
As a condition of the settlement, CEEC-HEPDI committed itself to developing an integrity compliance programme consistent with the principles set out in the World Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines.
The company is automatically prevented from bidding for work funded by bank’s sister organisations: the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the African Development Bank.
Image: Lusaka has recently suffered power outages (Dreamstime)
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