Dear Editor
For a long time there have been attempts to discredit BK International and its Chief Executive Officer, Brian Tiwarie. Ever since he left the inner clique of the People’s Progressive Party there have been these attacks against him and his family.

The headline in Kaieteur News of June 25, 2020 that screamed, ‘Govt pays BK International $74M more than his bid price’ is not only erroneous but also mischievous. And as if to give credence to this misinformation, Bharrat Jagdeo copied the headline to his Facebook post. He did not stop there. He rushed to claim that there was corruption.

The reality is that for $30 million Government has to spend millions of dollars more on this project. The government had invited tenders for the construction of Rip Rap design between Prospect and Broomhall. Mahaicony. That contract was won by A&S General Contractors Inc.

A trend that began nearly two decades ago continued.
A contractor operating in a given area is responsible to protect that area. While A&S General Contractors Inc was working on the initial project a breach developed on the stretch between Prospect and Danzig.

A&S General Contractors could not respond so an emergency call was made to BK International Inc. by Minister David Patterson. Soon after sealing that breach BK International was called on to seal another breach that had developed in the same area, close to where A&S General Contractors Inc were executing their contract.

The government had earlier tendered for 350 metres of sea defence at Content, Mahaicony. BK International submitted a tender for $278,867,300. The tender was not declared when another breach developed in the area. MB Construction had submitted a bid for $235,744, 500. Talbot Contracting Services submitted a bid for $247,599,600. This new breach extended the original 350 metre breach by a further 150 metres. The breach was now 500 metres. New tenders were therefore required and because of the increased volume of work the contractors were required to adjust their bids.

The final tender from BK International was $352,121,250. The company was therefore sealing a 150 metre breach for a mere $74 million. To suggest that BK International was paid an additional $74M more than the original bid price is disingenuous. A simple mathematical computation when the additional 150 metres of sea defence is priced would show that BK International’s bid was certainly not the highest bid. With the information provided Glenn Lall of Kaieteur News can explain to himself the discrepancies.

Bharrat Jagdeo, a self-proclaimed economist and someone who is expected to check his information, rushed to pass judgement on a report that sought to score political points through misinformation. Jagdeo himself is aware that contracts awarded in the past for a certain sum ended up costing much more because of failure of the original contractor to honour.

His government awarded sea defence contracts to other companies, only for him to call BK International to rescue the project and the contractor. A contractor who was awarded a bid to seal a breach at Profit, West Berbice failed. The government immediately called BK International to rescue the project, at a cost to the treasury.

It awarded a contract for works on the Charity Revetment project to Toolsie Persaud. At the time the aim was to construct the Charity wharf. Toolsie failed and the government was forced to call BK International who completed the project. It was the same when a breach developed in the Lama Conservancy. The contractor was Pasha. The government headed by Bharrat Jagdeo, ordered Minister Reepu Daman Persaud to hire BK International to eventually seal the breach.

It was the same when the government awarded a contract to Rafferdeen to seal a breach at Buxton. Again the authorities had to turn to BK International. Even international companies that were awarded contracts under the Seventh European Development Fund (EDF) could not cope with the professionalism of BK International.
Under the Seventh EDF contracts were awarded for works in Region Two and Region Three. With funds provided by the European Union and the Guyana Government a contract was awarded to Pac Gelfi. At La Belle Alliance, Essequibo Coast and on West Demerara the sea defence projects failed. Rocks used by the Italian company to do the Rip Rap slipped into the Atlantic Ocean.

Again BK International had to be rushed to the rescue. To this day, more than a decade later, the work done by the Italian company has long collapsed while the portion done by BK International is still standing strong. Of interest is that in every case where the government has to rescue a project it has had to spend much more. The cheapest contract is not necessarily the best. Most of the times the projects end up costing more.

Ever since 1985, BK International has had the largest pool of equipment and this does not include construction equipment. Today, it has ocean transport, barges, aircraft, a large trucking fleet and the technical support expertise. The company is so large that if all the other companies should pool their resources they would not amount to 20 per cent of BK International.

Regards
BK International