Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert has defended the integrity of the bidding selection for the Government's $15 billion rapid railway project but is mindful of the perception some may have about the process if the contract is awarded to the consortium that includes Bombardier Transportation.
By Juhel BrowneThat company is a sister company of Bombardier Aerospace which arranged a test flight for Prime Minister Patrick Manninig on board one of its US$50 million long-range jets recently.
"I have thought about that but I want to make something absolutely clear. The Prime Minister is not involved in the evaluation of the tenders nor is he involved in the negotiations nor will I be involved in the evaluation of the tenders," Imbert said in response to a question from the Express about the integrity of the bidding selection during yesterday's post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall.
Imbert noted that the selection of the five bids for the railway project is being carried out by State-owned special purposes enterprise the National Infrastructure Development Co (Nidco) which was set up for such a purpose.
"I am not aware that anybody at Nidco has been associated in any way with anything even remotely associated with Bombardier specifically and any other person who may be part of a group bidding on the project. So that it is a stretch trying to connect the Prime Minister to a process being done by Nidco.
"And I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that he will not intervene in the process nor will I," Imbert said.
Imbert said the Cabinet Ministers have no role in the selection of a preferred bidder and was only involved in establishing the policy "that value for money will be the determining factor in the final contract".
Imbert explained that the selection process has been ongoing for more than a year and included two public pretender meetings held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Port of Spain.
"Bids were formally invited in April and bids were formally received in August. Now the bids are on the qualifications for the proposals. Those are the sealed bids that were received and those are the ones that will be evaluated under the strictest terms of confidentiality," he said.
Imbert said the end result will be a merit list of three bidders and Nidco will then begin negotiations with the one assessed to be the strongest to try to get "a fair and reasonable price for that consortium".
"And if that doesn't work out the second proposer will be selected and then we will go through," he said.
Imbert said the process is called the Qualification Based Assessment (QBA), which is being used more and more in countries like the United States for complicated projects such as nuclear power plant, railway systems and airport construction.
Education Minister Hazel Manning, who was also onboard the test flight, said yesterday that when she flew to New York on state business, she did so on a BWIA flight.
