OFFICIALS from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure on Monday met with local stone and other materials suppliers to facilitate a link between them and China Harbour Engineering Company for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Modernisation Project.
Among the officials were Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Minister within the Ministry, Annette Ferguson; Permanent Secretary, Geoffrey Vaughn; Project Manager, Carmichael Thorne and officials from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Company, including Chairman, Stephen Fraser, and Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Ghir. Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, was also present.
According to a MPI release, the officials met with suppliers from BK International Inc., Toolsie Persaud Ltd. and Metallica Commodities Corp to provide assistance with getting them involved with the CJIA Modernisation Project.
While these suppliers would have previously bid for the project, they were disqualified due to shortfalls in their submissions. During Monday’s meeting, Thorne made a presentation and went through the necessary documents with the suppliers with the aim of clearing up any issues and redundancies. The suppliers were given detailed information on the required documents and were allowed to raise their concerns and queries on the bidding process.
According to Minister Patterson, 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. However, he emphasised the importance of meeting deadlines and said that delays will lead to severe repercussions. He added that the deadline is November 30 and stressed that this completion date 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, who makes the decision. However, Minister Patterson said, all must be done to ensure that the local suppliers are in good standing for consideration.
Meanwhile, Minister Gaskin said that the meeting was all about giving “our local suppliers every chance to be a part of this project”. However, he too emphasised 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 added. 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.