Montreal, Canada (BBN) – The World Bank (WB) has temporarily barred a unit of Canadian company SNC-Lavalin from bidding on its new projects following an investigation into Padma bridge project.
SNC-Lavalin has announces that, following an investigation launched last September, one of its subsidiaries received formal notice from the WB that the rights of that subsidiary to bid on new WB projects have been temporarily suspended.
The subsidiary named has the right, according to World Bank regulations, to respond to the allegations outlined in the WB’s report, which is confidential, before a final decision is taken. SNC-Lavalin intends to provide a comprehensive response to the allegations.
“We respect the World Bank’s decision to declare a temporary suspension on the subsidiary affected until this matter is concluded. We should be clear, however, that all ongoing projects and new bids by other subsidiaries and divisions will continue as usual,” the company’s interim CEO, Ian Bourne said in a statement.
“We launched our own internal investigation when this matter was first brought to our attention and we will continue to cooperate fully with the World Bank on this matter,” the CEO added.
The allegations in the confidential report relate to the Padma Bridge project in Bangladesh, for which the company’s subsidiary had bid.
The scope of the project, which was not awarded, was to act as the owner’s engineer for the Bangladesh government in supervising the contractor responsible for the overall bridge construction project, the company said.
The temporary suspension, which is effective immediately, is not a final decision but is an action taken by the WB to control interactions with the subsidiary concerned while the World Bank concludes its investigation and renders a final decision.
SNC-Lavalin remains committed to maintaining ethical standards of business conduct.
SNC-Lavalin is one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure, and in the provision of operations and maintenance services.
The SNC-Lavalin has offices across Canada and in over 40 other countries around the world, and is currently working in some 100 countries.
BBN/SSR/AD-03April12-1:20 pm (BST)
