In an effort to ensure that more local businesses are involved in national projects, Government officials met with local contractors on Tuesday to facilitate a link between them and contracting company China Harbour Engineering Company, for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Modernisation Project.
Government officials met with local suppliers on Tuesday
Among the local suppliers at the meeting were BK International Inc, Toolsie Persaud Ltd, and Metallica Commodities Corp. These suppliers previously bid for the supply of stones for the project, but were disqualified owing to shortfalls in their submissions.
Against this backdrop, the meeting was set up to properly enlighten and engage them so that they could get a second chance to be involved in the CJIA Modernisation Project.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Project Manager Carmichael Thorne led a presentation and went through the necessary documents with the suppliers, to clear up any issues and redundancies.
The suppliers were given detailed information on the required documents and were allowed to broach their concerns and queries on the bidding process.
Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson noted that the meeting was facilitated to ensure that local businesses play a role in the realisation of the national project. He indicated that local suppliers should have adequate time and opportunity to supply the goods.
At the same time, however, Patterson emphasised the importance of meeting deadlines and warned that any delays would lead to severe repercussions. He further stressed that the November 30 deadline must not be jeopardised.
The local suppliers were also informed that they have to meet all specifications, including size and chemical analyses, in order to be considered. It was emphasised that they were not guaranteed the supply; rather, it was ultimately the contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company, which would make the decision.
However, the Public Infrastructure Minister posited that all options must be exhausted to ensure that the local suppliers were in good standing for consideration.
On the other hand, Business Minister Dominic Gaskin outlined that the meeting was all about giving “our local suppliers every chance to be a part of this project”. However, he too posited that while it was important to have local suppliers involved, this goal should not compromise the project.
“Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see our local suppliers compete,” Minister Gaskin noted. He further urged the suppliers to be as competitive as possible in their pricing while keeping deadlines in mind at all times.
The local suppliers are expected to resubmit their documents in the coming week.
Also present at the meeting were Junior Public Infrastructure Minister Annette Ferguson; Permanent Secretary Geoffrey Vaughn; and officials from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Company, including Chairman Stephen Fraser and Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Ghir.
Last week, the CJIA reported that the new terminal building, that was currently being constructed, was slated for a mid-year completion as the foundation works were moving apace.
The Airport said that the new building was being constructed in close vicinity to the existing terminal. Further, the runway extension is some 56 per cent completed.
Upon completion, the runway would be extended from 2270 metres to 3360 metres to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a B747-400; aircraft would navigate on turning pads at the runway ends instead of using a parallel taxiway; a new remote apron would be constructed to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a B747-400; two boarding bridges would be installed and major renovations would be undertaken to the existing terminal building, which would be transformed into the Departures Building.
The deadline for the US$150 million project is December 31, 2017.
