(Trinidad Express) The Trinidad and Tobago Contractors Association has objected to the proposed award to build the new UWI South Campus project at Debe to foreign firm China Jiangsu International Economic Technical Corp.
In a statement on Thursday the TTCA said local contractors must be given preference over foreign contractors and Government made many promises to the local construction industry that preference and inclusion in their development projects would be forthcoming.
“There are no local content conditionalities in the proposed contract, therefore the possibility of 100 per cent foreign content on this project is a real possibility,” the TTCA said.
The group argued that a local contractor would ensure the maximum engagement of local business and local skills on the project and would preserve valuable foreign exchange by keeping the money in Trinidad and Tobago.
In international bid evaluation procedures, technical competence is always weighted heavier than cost consideration. World Bank Bid Guidelines use 80 per cent for technical competence and 20 per cent for financial capacity/lowest price, the TTCA said, adding: “From UWI’s reported technical evaluation, China Jiangsu had a significantly lower technical score and lowest price (some 35 per cent below the next bidder) yet their overall score was only 1.5 per cent higher than the next bidder who had the highest technical score. This ranking is not in keeping with international best practice.”
The TTCA said it intends to request an urgent meeting with Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim to discuss the matter.
