The notification was addressed to Kenya's permanent secretary in the Energy Ministry who, along with his Ugandan counterpart, chair the Joint Coordinating Commission on Pipeline Extension. "Under the Exchequer and Audit (Public Procurement) Regulations 2001, no contract may be signed between the procuring entity and the tenderer awarded the contract unless the appeals have been finalized," the notice says. Uganda's permanent energy secretary Kabagambe Kaliisa was quoted as saying, however, that the tender evaluation was continuing, and they were making clarifications and administrative reviews. "We usually encounter such problems when we call for tenders. If complaints are being heard, it is not new. This is a joint tender. We have guiding principles, which is the law," Mr Kaliisa said. It is understood that tenders from China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation, Tamoil East Africa Ltd, and MISA Incorporation/Shell Uganda Ltd are currently being evaluated in the final stage of the process, from the original 23 applicants. Petronet's complaint arose over a decision by the Joint Coordinating Commission to exclude it from the technical evaluation stage even after it had posted a $400,000 cash bond. The company is understood to have also objected to the evaluation committee's decision not to evaluate the tender documents it submitted in 2004 that enabled it to be shortlisted for the final bid, and its decision to exclude Nexant, the global firm initially retained by the Joint Committee to prepare a feasibility study. Construction of the 320-km oil pipeline, which is intended to be operational by late 2007, was supposed to start in August. However, the process has been beset by delays due to the cross-border nature of the project. When complete, Uganda expects to save considerably on the costs it incurs on transporting oil from the Kenyan oil refineries using road tankers.