Home Top Stories Demerara River bridge contract negotiations: Rigorous, transparent processes to get world-class bridge...
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has reassured that it is following rigorous and transparent processes to construct world-class infrastructure in Guyana, including the new Demerara River bridge.
This is according to Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, in a statement on Saturday.
“This Government is following a rigorous and transparent process which is benefiting from the best available technical advice. Our objective is to ensure that we get world-class infrastructure, in this case, a world class bridge on the most competitive financial terms,” the Finance Minister pointed out.
Dr Singh’s emphasis on Government’s position comes on the heels of an announcement last week that negotiations with the Chinese consortium to construct the new Demerara River bridge fell through. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had disclosed that this was as a result of the cost of financing being too high with the first preferred bidder, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd.
In his statement on Saturday, the Finance Minister sought to bring clarity about the failed negotiations to dispel any unfounded concerns.
He explained that after the publicly open and transparent tender process, a multidisciplinary team comprising Finance Secretary Sukrishnalall Pasha, Attorney-at-Law Ronald Burch-Smith, Consultant/Engineer Marcel Gaskin, and Engineer Intakab Indarjeet was appointed by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) in November 2021.
The team’s mandate was to engage China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd to negotiate optimal financial terms and conditions for the construction of the new Demerara River bridge. The mandate also provided for the negotiation team to engage the second-ranked bidder, should negotiations with the first bidder prove unsuccessful.
“Therefore, while CSCEC was adjudged the most responsive bidder, the finalisation and signing of a contract with the said bidder were subject to the successful negotiation of mutually acceptable financial terms and conditions,” the Minister highlighted.
He went on to outline those negotiations between the team and CSCEC commenced on December 24, but after several meetings, the two sides were unable to successfully negotiate mutually acceptable financial terms and conditions.
“It is noteworthy that the team focused on the construction cost and securing the financial terms and conditions that would serve the country’s best interest,” the Finance Minister asserted.
Consequently, the negotiation team wrote NPTAB on January 20, seeking permission to terminate negotiations with CSCEC and commence negotiation with the second-ranked bidder – China Railway Construction Corporation (International) Limited, China Railway Construction (Caribbean) Co Ltd & China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co Ltd Joint Venture, in keeping with its mandate. This approval was granted, thus paving the way for the team to engage the second-ranked bidder.
Those new negotiations commenced on January 28, and are ongoing.
Dr Singh’s explanation of events leading to the termination of the initial negotiations was in response to recent statements made by General Secretary of the Alliance for Change (AFC), David Patterson, which suggested that negotiation with CSCEC ended abruptly and under suspicious circumstances.
Opposition counter-productive
The Finance Minister expressed concerns over the remarks made by the former Public Infrastructure Minister under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration.
“It is most unfortunate that the AFC should seek to cast aspersions on this rigorous process that is ongoing. This represents yet another example of the Opposition’s obstructive, counter-productive, and destructive behaviour which over the years has been aimed at frustrating, stymieing, and derailing development,” the Minister posited.
He further reminded that “…Mr Patterson and the AFC should be the last to speak about transparency and accountability, given their dismal and disastrous track record, including the various scams that saw public funds being used to purchase jewellery and golden adornments for the very Patterson who claimed never to wear such jewellery despite the public availability of dozens of photographs proving otherwise, not to mention the vehicle scale scam and the Harbour Bridge and Asphalt Plant scam, among many others. The AFC, and Mr Patterson in particular, lack the moral authority to speak on matters related to public accountability,” Dr Singh concluded.
Late October last year, Cabinet had granted its no-objection for China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd to construct the bridge at a proposed cost of US$256.6 million.
The contract was awarded based on a Design-Build-Finance (DBF) model with financial terms and conditions which would be no less favourable than those submitted in the preferred bidder’s price proposals.
Initially, the Government had pre-qualified nine firms to submit bids for the construction of a two-lane dual carriageway (4 lanes) hybrid cable-stayed centre span bridge with concrete box/T beam girder approach bridge structure.
The pre-qualified firms were invited to submit bids to construct the bridge using a Design-Build-Finance (D-B-F) contract and Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (D-B-F-O-M) contract.
The second responsive bidder had submitted a proposal of US$260.8 million.
During last week’s consideration of the 2022 Budget Estimates, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill fielded questions on why $21 billion was budgeted for the project if the request for proposals includes the preferred bidder financing the project.
Minister Edghill explained that the budgetary allocation is to undertake preparatory works.
“The Government of Guyana has provided this sum to ensure that all the necessary things that need to be done when we engage the preferred bidder, our contribution to get that project kickstarted and for it to be built in two years, we are getting that done now… [The $21 billion] is to ensure at all cost we get the bridge, we get the best price and that the interest of Guyana is served when we finalise a contract with whoever will be doing the construction of this bridge,” Edghill stressed.
