Contracts worth up to $2M will be set aside by the Regional Administration of Region Five for a new category of contractors being called start-up contractors. This group of contractors forms part of a sub-division of small contractors who qualify for projects costing up to $5M. The establishment of the category of Start-ups is intended to give persons who do not have the equipment or machinery to meet the requirements for the higher level of five million dollar contracts.
“In our initiative, the ceiling for this new category, the Start Up Contractors, is $2M. They qualify for projects under that amount and additionally instead of the usual requirement for contractors to show 30% cash security for contracts we will be merely asking this set of contractors to show 10% cash security for their contracts under the $2M ceiling,” Regional Executive Officer Ovid Morrison explained.
He stressed that the Administration had sought and gotten approval to establish this new category of Contractors with the aim of providing employment for the smaller artisan who could not provide the requirements for more costly contracts like those worth between $3M and $14M.
“This is our way to help the small artisan or skilled worker to taste a piece of the pie,” he stated.
Morrison made the disclosures during a Procurement Workshop held by the Administration for persons who would like to apply for Contracts for works to be done under the budget of the Regional Administration this year.
The meeting which was held at the Regional Administration’s Boardroom at Fort Wellington, West Coast Berbice saw several participants including wannabe Start-up Contractors, Small Contractors and those qualified for the larger contracts.
During a presentation on the categories of Contractors, Morrison outlined the essentials needed to qualify for the small contracts.
“The up to $2M projects are exclusively for Start-Up contractors and no one else. They will compete among themselves in what for them will be a level playing field,” Morrison disclosed.
The Regional Administration had also reduced the cash security required from Small Contractors from 30% to 20% and has decided that registration for prequalification for projects would be continuous so that persons who may not have applied early in the year can do so before the year end and can thereafter be considered for Contracts by the Regional Tender Board.
Start-up Contractors who have proved their worth with the $2M projects can also register to qualify for larger projects in the Small Contractors category.
Meanwhile, other topics discussed included the procurement process , the green economy as it relates to construction works, elements of the prequalification process, requirements for the successful execution of contract works, requirements for requesting of payments, specifications for the construction of buildings which provide health care services, and generally other guidelines which are to be followed by persons wishing to get contracts from the Administration this year.
Also present at the meeting were Regional Engineer Dhanpaul Sukha, Deputy Regional Executive Officer Govind Singh, Regional Health Officer Dr. Steven Cheefoon, and Senior Officers of the Engineering Division of the Administration.