Seven months ago, when concerns were raised about the way state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) awarded the $1.6 billion contract for the Beetham Wastewater Treatment Plant to a consortium led by Super Industrial Services Ltd (SISL), several government ministers were quick to defend the tendering process. Most vocal on that matter were Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine and his then Cabinet colleague, former sports minister Anil Roberts.
As line minister for NGC, Mr Ramnarine must now seek explanations from SISL as to why, according to a confidential tender document obtained by the Sunday Guardian over the weekend, it is seeking to outsource the contract and will only serve as project manager. He also needs to find out why SISL is seeking to have bidders enter into a confidentiality clause.
In addition, the minister must call upon officials of NGC and the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), for whom the plant is being built, to explain exactly which of the qualifying criteria the SISL consortium satisfied to land the billion-dollar contract.
After Mr Ramnarine gets the answers to all these questions, he should put on record in Parliament what transpired and whether the consortium will be allowed to continue with the contract, particularly since a clause in it clearly states that the company it is awarded to must do the construction itself.
This raises serious questions about how the SISL consortium, which includes Foster Wheeler and Hyflux, satisfied criteria for technical ability and experience to win the bid.There were already concerns that the consortium failed to meet the cost criteria since its bid was $400 million more than the other bidder.There had been a hue and cry from the opposition and other groups and numerous calls for closer scrutiny when the contract was first awarded.
Given the high cost and complexity involved in construction of the wastewater plant, a major and long overdue facility, those concerns are valid.T
he T&T Contractors Association (TTCA) and the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) had even called for a halt to the proposed project so that an independent public investigation could be done. However, opposition concerns were dismissed and the TTCA/JCC calls for a probe were ignored. The general impression was that the billion-dollar project was proceeding full speed ahead.
However, reports that the SISL consortium is attempting to outsource the project puts a whole new spin on this matter which cannot now proceed without full, public explanations of all the concerns that have been raised.
What makes this development particularly alarming is that it comes on the heels of last week's revelations in Parliament of poor work done on Housing Development Corporation (HDC) houses and other government contracts handed out to major companies. It also brings back into focus the urgent need for procurement legislation to ensure transparency and accountability with major state projects.
The Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration, which will be conducting a Commission of Enquiry into the Las Alturas housing project, has demonstrated its interest in seeking answers to major concerns about public projects involving large amounts of taxpayers dollars. The wastewater project, with its billion-dollar price tag, requires serious scrutiny.