Government yesterday defended its role in the controversial assigning of the East Coast highway contract to China Railway First Group amid concerns that the intervention was unlawful and exemplified its determination to interfere in big procurement deals.
Insiders have told Stabroek News that the government’s intervention in the award of the huge US$57M contract was meant to retain China Railway’s interest in the stalled Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.
On Tuesday, Stabroek News reported that the government had sidelined a proposal from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) that the contract be awarded to China Harbour Engineer-ing Co. Ltd which is the contractor for the Timehri airport project as its bid met all of the requirements even though it was US$2M over the