…before opening tenders for Sheriff St/Mandela Ave road project

-scope of work also revised

By Zena Henry  
A REVISION of the scope of work and the absence of an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) ‘no-objection’ have delayed the opening of tenders for the much-vaunted Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue Enhancement Project (Lots Six to Seven)
Tendering was pushed back by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) last Tuesday. Concerned contractors vying for spots to effect relevant road works to the roads main went public about the cancellation of bidding for the multi-billion dollar road project.
The Guyana Chronicle has learnt however that several issues, including technical changes, forced the delay of the almost six-year-old project.
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Paterson explained that the Sheriff Street/Mandela Avenue project was signed in 2012 to the tune of US$66m. He said that to date only one percent of the fund has been disbursed despite the IDB loan coming to an end in 2018. The minister said the project which was signed under the previous People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration was tendered twice before.
In 2014, the IDB cancelled the tender process because of fraud. It was found that the recommended contractor had submitted fake documents. The 2015 tender process, Patterson said, started under the previous government, but when “tenders were returned in May 2015, none of the contractors were deemed responsive.”
Patterson explained further that discussions were therefore held with the Ministry of Finance on the poor performance of the road project and disagreement with the scope of work was expressed. “It was agreed that we will re-scope the project; thus, the project was revised to include ONLY the following: relocation of the utility (contracts awarded to GT&T and GWI), pedestrian crossing, Milling and new Overlay of the surface and repairs to bridges and structures,” Patterson, stated.
The new scope of work was anticipated to cost US$35M and adjusted to ensure that the work is completed within the loan’s 2018 deadline, while the Ministry of Finance was said to be re-programing the remaining funds. “The revised scope was submitted to the Ministry of Finance, which forwarded same to the IDB for No-Objection. However this process has not been completed; thus, if the bids had been opened without the no-objection, the IDB would not have recognised this process. Thus, the tenderers were informed that the opening date has been pushed back, so that this formality can be completed. Their tenders will be returned to them unopened and they can then resubmit on the new date.”
When contact was made with Prime Minister Nagamootoo, he acknowledged receipt of Minister Patterson’s letter. The prime minister told the newspaper that the explanation offered by the minister was clear and highlighted a technical matter involving the project. He said he is convinced that, “no irregularity” occurred in pushing back the tender date, since it was done because of technical reviews and in order to pre-empt possible issues that would arise with the IDB, if the bidding were to go ahead without the bank’s say on the revised scope of work.