The first meeting of the working group for establishing GCC-HDD was held on 16th, September 2008 at CIDC Conference Hall, 801, Hemkunt chambers 89, Nehru Place. New Delhi. The list of the member present are as per annexure – I

At the out set of the meeting, ED IndSTT welcomed all the dignitaries and extended thanks to all participants for sparing their valuable time to attend the meeting.

The No-Dig Journal August –September 2008 was also inaugurated at the out set of the meeting. ED IndSTT explained that this issue of journal is an important publication as it contains the special feature on “Mahi River Crossing.” The inauguration was done jointly by Shri, R.N. Mittal, Chief Manager (Projects), GAIL (India) Ltd., Mr. Harish Chandani, DGM, Mecon Delhi, Mr. J.R. Patel Managing Director, N.R. Patel & Co., Chennai, being a part of Mahi winning Team, which as on date is the longest river crossing of India in its category, & Prof. Niranjan Swarup ED, IndSTT. It was put into record that this challenging task, was accomplished with the whole hearted effort of all concerned including client, Rig and equipment suppliers, designers & contractor all alike. The effort made by all concerned to make this crossing a reality with HDD method was appreciated by all present in the meeting.

Thereafter a slide presentation was made by Mr. A. Sengupta Sr. Advisor IndSTT on “General Conditions of Contract-HDD (GCC-HDD)” and “Model Consultancy Contract for HDD crossing (MCC-HDD)”. It was explained and brought to the notice of all concerned that IndSTT is contemplating to bring out these two documents during the “Mega Drill Show 2008” to be held on 4th & 5th December 2008. It was also informed that soft copy of the document was e-mailed during August 2008 to the nominated personnel of various organization for their rearview and comments. It was also informed to all the participants that these two documents was prepared to standardize the related works and issues of Horizontal Directional Drilling and bring clarity in the same so that if helps all the stake holders in executing their job.

The slide presentation an “GCC-HDD” dealt with General Conditions of Contract for Horizontal Directional Drilling and the Presentation covered Need Statements, Contractual Frame work, Necessary Requirements, Core Conditions of Contract. It was also explained that “GCCHDD” will be helpful to all stake holders as it will bring clarity in the Tendering Process as well during contract execution stage.

The slide presentation on “MCC-HDD” dealt on the premise of Horizontal Directional Drilling process design for installation of pipeline and other underground conduits for gravity or pressure pipelines, potential problems which may be faced by the stake holders due to site condition, working conditions and quality issue of the project. It was explained that consultant by their professional expertise will be able to provide specialized services and advice including knowledge transfer depending on the requirement. It was also mentioned that IndSTT is capable of assisting stakeholders in above requirements.

Thereafter the IndSTT capabilities and IndSTT publications was also presented in slide form for the benefit the participants.

At the end of the slide show, it was informed to the participants were requested to provide their comments for further improvement in the draft documents. The CD containing both the Documents was distributed to all the participants. It was also informed that comments on the same had already been received from some of the working group members that would be circulated to members.

Participants were also requested to submit the technical papers for presentation in the seminar during Mega Drill Show 2008.

During the ensueing discussions in the meeting, Mr. Verma M/s Mecon Ranchi, indicated that they have reviewed the document and they have certain suggestions on payment terms and other points which they will be e-mailing shorty.

Mr. Ehteshamul Haque, M/s DCI proposed considering reviewing the prequalification criteria to enable more service providers to join the industry as works are growing & there is a pancity of such organization.

Prof. Niranjan Swarup, IndSTT indicated that one must be careful about reduction of the prequalification conditions as it may lead to degradation of quality of work. Mr. Ashwani Soni, M/s EIL opined, the conditions must be chosen to safeguard all the stakeholders interest.

Mr. Ben Hayes Herrenknecht proposed considering alternate supporting clauses for prequalification through the qualifications of the consultants providing technical assistance to contractors.

To address the issue related to prequalification, Mr. Anoop Aggarwal, M/s Rosewood proposed considering inclusion of eligibility criteria clause about equipment.

Mr. Hitesh Patel, M/s N.R. Patel & Co., indicate that the Tender condition and various clauses should be amply clear to safe guard the interest of the contractor specially where project Risks are high.

At the end of the meeting, ED IndSTT expressed his sincere thanks to all the participants for sparing their valuable time and making it convenient to attend the meeting and making it a success. He also requested to all the participants to review both the documents, “GCC-HDD” and “MCC-HDD” and provide their inputs to IndSTT so that comments could be deliberated during the second meeting & incorporated suitably for finalization of the documents. He has expressed his faith that these two documents will definitely help all the stake holders in the long run.

ED IndSTT also requested all members present to Participate whole heartedly in the Mega Drill Show 2008 to make it a grand success.