World Bank Blocks Firm After Cambodia Project Probe

A bribery investigation by the World Bank has discovered misconduct by a major Canadian construction firm that was awarded a $5 million contract to help expand access to electricity in rural Cambodia, the bank said. … In December 2009, SNC-Lavalin announced that it has been awarded an 18-month contract worth $5 million to design and build a national control center and energy management system in Phnom Penh for state-owned power company Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) as part of the donor-funded project. Referring to both the company’s operations in Bangladesh and Cambodia, the World Bank statement says, “SNC-Lavalin’s misconduct  involved a conspiracy to pay bribes and misrepresentations when bidding for Bank-financed contracts in violation of the World Bank’s procurement guidelines.” … Keo Rotanak, director-general of EdC, declined to comment. However, Chea Sun Hel, director of EdC’s distribution unit, said that the national control center – which is the operational hub for the national grid – had been completed. … The implementation of the Rural Electrification and Transmission Project – which ran from 2003 to 2012 and cost a total of nearly $68 million – was the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy.

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/world-bank-blocks-firm-after-cambodia-project-probe-19199/