PPP demands evidence of shunned companies’ unsuitability

Demerara River report

– as investigations show some exceeded Dutch firm in bridge-building experience

By Jarryl Bryan

Following admission by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure that it single-sourced a contract to carry out a feasibility study into the new Demerara River Bridge to a Dutch company, questions have arisen regarding the grounds for Government disqualifying all the other companies which initially had bid.
During a recent press conference, members of the parliamentary Opposition poked holes in the Government’s motives. PPP Chief Whip Gail Teixeira and Member of Parliament Juan Edghill affirmed that while companies which had their bids annulled were experienced in bridge construction, Dutch company LievenseCSO was not.

“The Ministry said it acted with the knowledge of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, and the bid that was received from the company was found to be the best technically and (was the most) fiscally sound bid that had been received,” Edghill stated at the press conference. “Now, if it’s sole-sourced, what are you comparing it against? C’mon Minister, stop the lying! If you are saying this (company) is sole-sourced, what are you comparing it against?”
Edghill went on to demand copies of the evaluation reports of the 22 companies and the Tender Board minutes reflecting the decision in favour of the company. And noting that letters have to be written to companies which were part of an annulled tender, explaining the reason for the decision, Edghill demanded copies of those letters.
The Ministry is yet to take up the Opposition’s challenge to release the evaluation report, despite issuing a press release on Saturday which corrected its prior inaccurate statement regarding the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) role in funding the project.

Without that report, however, this newspaper conducted its own investigations into the background of the other companies, and highlighted the construction projects of at least three of them.

Egis
One such bidder was French engineering firm Egis Group of Companies. This firm has completed a number of projects, including the Žeželj Bridge in Serbia — a piece of infrastructure which cost 60 million euros. It is a project partially funded by the European Union.

According to the project document, the French company had to build the bridge along with associated connecting infrastructure. This included the construction of a road and the removal of an existing temporary bridge.
Another bridge the company built was the Confluences Bridge crossing the Maine River in Angers, France. The complex design of the bridge, which cost some 27 million euros, includes a main span in excess of 150 metres that is suspended from an axial arc by radial lines.

China Shandong
China Shandong International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group Ltd, a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned Shandong Hi-Speed Group, was another bidder for the contract. The group has the distinction of designing the world’s longest known cross-sea bridge.

The bridge is an important link between China’s eastern port city of Qingdao and the offshore island of Huangdao. According to the Guinness Book of World records, the six-lane Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is 26.4 miles long and is designed to withstand the impact of a 300,000- tonne vessel.

Ballast Nedam
Netherlands-based Ballast Nedam is known for its work in neighbouring Suriname and countries around the world. A few years ago, the company was selected to build the Berbice River Bridge, but the agreement was later cancelled.
Some of the company’s major projects have included bridges. One such bridge is the billion-dollar two-lane Confederation Bridge in Canada. The bridge, which was constructed with 62 piers, is 11 metres wide and 12.9 kilometres long.
The other companies

The bids of these and other companies were opened on December 8, 2016 by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB). Seven European and four Chinese companies had signalled their interest. Several of these overseas companies had partnered with local firms.
The other companies were Politechnica Ingeneria Architecture of Italy, in association with Marcelle Gaskin and Associates of Guyana; Howson Consulting Engineers of the United Kingdom; COWI of Denmark; IPRO Consulting from Germany, and Mott Mc Donald of the United Kingdom in association with SRK Engineering and Consulting.
The Chinese bidders include China Harbour Engineering (CHEC); China Railway First Group, and Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Communications, Planning, Design and Research. India-based Rites Limited had also taken a shot at the bidding process.
VIKAR Enterprises of Trinidad and Tobago; CTE, in association with NV Rustwijk and Rustwijk of Suriname; WSP Caribbean Limited from Trinidad; and the Guyana-based Stunning Nisi Inc. NMN Group of Canada, in association with CEMCO of Guyana, had also expressed interest in conducting the feasibility study for the new bridge.
They were also joined by Sener of South Africa; Japan-based Stantec, in association with Pedelta; Proficenter from Brazil; Stuart Consulting Group; along with Rahmad and Associates from the United States, and CBCL Ltd from Nova Scotia, Canada.