Guyana
Three Indian companies are vying to construct the much anticipated Ogle to Eccles four-lane highway, which is being funded by a line of credit from the Indian Exim Bank.
The bids from the three companies, Afcons, Ashoka Construction Company, and Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Infracon Pvt. Ltd (DRAIPL), submitted bids for the project after it was retendered last month.
The tender documents were opened on Friday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) boardroom at the Ministry of Finance.
While the engineer’s estimate pegs the project at US$48.6 million, the bids are twice the projected cost. The bids submitted are Afcons – US$108,054,358; Ashoka – US$111,976,119; and DRAIPL – US$106,775,275.
Afcons, which is described on its website as one of the fastest growing infrastructural companies in India, boasts a portfolio of taking on extremely challenging and complex projects. The company operates in the areas of marine and industrial infrastructure, surface transport, oil and gas, hydro, and underground infrastructure and urban infrastructure.
Ashoka Construction Company tendered the highest bid of US$111,976,119. According to the company’s website it is a full-service contractor and industry leader, with the expertise to execute any scale of project within a limited time span. “We have earned our reputation as one of the most experienced, innovative, and quality-driven contractors in India, with over 40 years of service in the civil construction industry,” the website states.
In its company bio, DRAIPL informed that it has been operating successfully over four decades and spearheaded its way in the infrastructure sector of India. Described as one of the top construction companies of India, it also boasts a strong workforce of 4000-plus professionals and state-of-the-art information technology. The company’s portfolio states that they have been executing projects in the sectors such as roads and highways, aviation, railway and metro-rail, water supply and waste management, smart cities and urban development, bridges and flyovers, among others.
The initial bids were expected to be submitted by August by four Indian companies that were pre-qualified by the Government of India to tender for the project. This resulted in the project having to retender.
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill had explained that following the re-engagement with the Indian government, Guyana was given approval to retender the project. He stated that the bank agreed to have the technical prequalification done by India’s Ministry of Transport with the aim of drawing a wider pool of contractors.
This process was initiated on October 29 and will run concurrently with the local ministry’s invitation for financial bids from interested companies.
The process was being done simultaneously and only financial bids from firms which are compliant in the technical prequalification were opened.
Just after taking office, the PPP/C-led government amended the design of the proposed Ogle to Diamond bypass road to bring the project costs in line with the funds made available by the Indian government.
During a visit to India in January 2015, then President Donald Ramotar had received a US$50 million loan commitment from the Indian Exim Bank to fund the road project.
The procurement process will see invitations extended to international bidders and will be monitored by the Indian Government.
Under the project, the first phase of the road is to be constructed from Ogle, East Coast Demerara, to Haags Bosch on the East Bank of Demerara and will later have a connection to Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
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Guyana
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)-funded Linden to Mabura Hill road construction and upgrading project has attracted billion-dollar bids from Chinese and Brazilian companies.
The bids for the project were opened on Wednesday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board at the Ministry of Finance offices in Georgetown.
Three Chinese firms submitted separate bids. China Railway International tendered a bid for $33,808,790,866, while China Gezhouba Group Company submitted bid of $29,962,374,374, and Shandong Luqiao Group Company Limited tendered a bid of $30,225,357,170. In a joint venture, Guyanese company EOCI and Brazilian firm, Castilho, tendered a bid of $35,138,144,149, while Construtora Queiroz Galvao S.A. submitted a bid of $29,546,747,077.
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill yesterday told Sunday Stabroek that they are currently in the process of evaluating the bids.
In October, the minister said that they were pushing for a contract signing by the end of the year.
Last December it was announced that the CDB, the United Kingdom Government, and the Guyana Government, had partnered to fund a US$190 million project for the upgrading of 121 kilometres of road from Linden to Mabura Hill.
CDB is putting up US$112 million via a loan towards the project. The approved sum for the project represents the largest project that the regional bank has financed in its 50-year existence. The UK is providing a US$66 million grant and the Guyana government will provide US$12 million.
The road is expected to be upgraded from a fair-weather road to an all-weather asphalt concrete one and would include new drainage infrastructure with enhanced capacity to mitigate the effects of flooding.
Construction of the thoroughfare is expected to improve connectivity between Guyana’s hinterland and the coast and is the first phase of a wider plan to develop a transportation corridor from Georgetown to Lethem on the southwest border, thereby connecting the port in Georgetown with northern Brazil.
The unpaved 450-kilometre road from Linden to Lethem is often impassable during the rainy season due to flooding along its low-lying sections. It is anticipated that the upgraded road corridor will provide year-round connectivity between Linden and Mabura Hill, improving conditions for local and long-haul transport which can increase trade between Guyana and Brazil.
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Guyana
The Auditor-General’s report for 2020 says that the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs single-sourced 112 Mahindra tractors and trailers on the grounds that market research had revealed that it was the most economical of its type.
This disclosure will raise eyebrows and concerns that the ministry has flouted procurement laws. Single-sourcing is permitted in limited circumstances and usually not on the basis of market research. The Auditor General’s report which was tabled in the National Assembly on Monday was however silent on the method of procurement.
Its report said that Cabinet granted its `No-objection’ on 30 December 2020 for the award of a contract in the sum of $446.880M for the supply and delivery of 112 tractors and trailers for Amerindian Villages and Communities.
“The award was made using the single source method of procurement on the basis that market research revealed that Mahindra Tractors are the most economical tractors on the market with the four-wheel drive and 75 horse power needed for development in the Amerindian Communities/Villages”, the report said.
The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs had tendered for tractors and trailers last year and bids were opened at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board on October 20. It is unclear if this process was proceeded with or it was set aside for the single-sourcing.
On October 20, the ministry had received seven bids ranging between $231m and $339m for the supply of an unspecified number of tractors and trailers
The Auditor General’s report said that the contract was signed between the Ministry and a local supplier on 31 December 2020. The report did not name the supplier. The signing came the day after the Cabinet no-objection.
The Auditor General’s report said that the contract stated that an advance payment of fifty percent of the contract sum was to be paid upon signing of the contract whilst, the final payment of fifty percent of the contract sum was to be paid upon submission of a payment bond.
“Six transactions amounting to the contract sum of $446.880M were processed on 30 and 31 December 2020; while, the cheques were drawn on 4 January 2021. Three payments amounting to $223.440M, which represented fifty percent of the contract sum were paid on 13 January 2021. The other three payments amounting to $223.440M representing the final payment on the contract, were paid on 5 March 2021”, the report said.
An Advance Payment Guarantee dated 30 December 2020 was provided in the sum of $223.440M, with a validity period from 30 December 2020 to 30 April 2021 – the duration of the contract. The report said that the supplier then wrote the Ministry in April 2021 requesting an extension of time to supply 112 tractors and trailers.
The report said that the basis of the extension sought was stated as disruptions “…due to several unexpected closures at the Mahindra Production Plant in India. As such, the production was delayed for a few weeks”. The report sad that the Ministry granted the extension in time up to 15 August 2021 and the Advance Guarantee was also amended, resulting in a new validity date of 20 August 2021.
The report said that as of 9 September 2021, 103 tractors and trailers were recorded as having been received by the Ministry. Of these, fifty-four tractors and trailers were still at the Amerindian Dorms, Liliendaal whilst the other forty-nine tractors and trailers were issued to various Amerindian Villages. As a result, the report said that the intended benefits from the use of the tractors and trailers were being delayed.
The Head of Budget Agency stated that the late delivery of the tractors and trailers was no fault of Ministry, and that the delay was not material in nature or would compromise the intended purpose.
Further only twenty handing over forms were submitted for audit. As a result, the report said that the Office of the Auditor General could not determine the locations of the twenty-nine tractors and trailers, and whether they were handed over to the Villages as reported.
The ministry’s response was that the handing over documents were established and were now available.
In addition, only thirty certificates of registration were submitted for audit. As a result, the Office of the Auditor General said that it could not determine whether the nineteen tractors and trailers reportedly handed over to Villages were registered with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). Moreover, ownership of these nineteen tractors and trailers could not be verified.
The ministry in response stated that all the tractors and trailers were delivered to the ministry; however, certificates of registration for 11 tractors and 39 trailers were still at GRA, at the time of reporting.
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British Virgin Islands
The government has signed a contract with Quality Air Condition & Refrigeration for the procurement, installation and commissioning of the heat, ventilation and air condition system at the Multipurpose Sports Complex in Road Town.
Quality Air Condition won the $786,000 contract in what Sports Minister Dr Natalio Wheatley described as a transparent tender process. Dr Wheatley used the contractual signing to acknowledge the owner of the company, Kelvin Thomas who he described as someone committed to the development of the Virgin Islands.
Wheatley said Thomas has been helping the sports complex with AC and ventilation from the time the facility was impacted by the 2017 hurricanes.
“I have to acknowledge the contractor. What you may not know is that when the AC was not functioning, he would come in here and rig up things to get it working. When he could not do it any more and everything collapsed on us; we had to rent a unit and I believed it came from Puerto Rico,” Wheatley said.
“Through this contractor, we were able to use this rented unit for free at the expiration of our contract. We wanted to use it for a few more events and of course this is a very popular venue for events and through the contractor, we were able to secure a good many few weeks of free AC to the people of the Virgin Islands,” the Deputy Premier added.
Meanwhile, Thomas thanked the government and the Recreational Trust for the opportunity to work on the project. He noted it was a long-time coming and he is grateful his company was selected to carry out the task.
“The tender process was a very intense one and I cannot remember being through such an intense one before. But one of the things that we did was engage the original manufacturers of the chillers to guide us through the process and we did that because we felt that if we were successful, we wanted to deliver an equipment that was at a high standard. We believe that it is important that our client get value for money,” Thomas said.
“Now the equipment will take about three months to build. It’s not just sitting there and we pay for it and ship it. It has to be built and whoever is managing it will be able to access it remotely anytime they choose. Whether they are in Anegada or off-island, they can monitor the system. It will be highly efficient to help to cut down on the electricity bill they incur here,” the owner of Quality Air Conditioning said.
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Guyana
The Region 10 Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is seeking answers from Regional Executive Officer (REO) Dwight John over the collapse of the drains at Silvertown, in Linden, and the continued award of contracts to the contractor, who the region flagged due to the poor quality of work on projects.
Daniel Sugrim, of D&R Construction and Machinery Rental, was awarded the contract via waiver of Tender Board procedures, which the RDC has also questioned.
The council has said during a visit in May, the Regional Engineer raised serious concerns over the quality of works that was being delivered in Silvertown, where a street was being paved and the contractor was tasked with building 600 meters of retaining wall to support the road works.
According to the Regional Chairman Deron Adams, during his visit residents complained of the shoddy works being done on the shoulders of the road. He said residents pointed out that the width of the road was reduced and the drains that were being constructed were too narrow.
“The Regional Democratic Council would like to receive in writing your justification for the continued award of contracts when the (shortcomings) of this contractor is apparent and steps have not yet been taken to address these shortcomings,” Adams wrote in a letter to John on behalf of the council, while also questioning why the Tender Board continues to waive tender procedures to make awards to the contractor and others who have been flagged similarly.
He asked for a response before Thursday’s statutory meeting of the council (December 2nd). There has been no response.
Adams, in his letter, pointed out that at another project site, the said contractor delivered substandard work and it was not corrected. At Third Alley, Wismar, the contractor constructed drains above the level of surrounding properties, defying the purpose of the drains in the area. After this contract came to a halt because of the objections raised by residents, Adams said that Sugrim was then awarded a contract to construct the Silvertown drains which have now collapsed.
The contractor has also been awarded a third contract for the extension of the DeVeldt Primary School, to the tune of $11 million.
The Council said that it had in months past written to John, who is the Head of the Regional Tender Board, and copied the Ministry of Finance and the National Procurement and Tender Administration querying why waivers to Tender Board procedures were being applied to a significant portion of the RDC’s contracts. This, the RDC said, effectively allowed contractors to be handpicked, denying others the chance to bid for contracts. No response has been forthcoming to date, the RDC said.
In the letter to John, Adams also reminded the REO that with exception of emergency circumstances, the council has to approve the waiver of procurement procedures.
Adams further questioned why measures were not taken to address the shortcomings of projects even after concerns would have been registered and why procedures in the tendering process are continuously being waived.
The Department of Public Information on Thursday reported that the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development had taken note of the inferior works and it stated that the contractor has returned to the area and was executing corrective works on the road.
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