Despite having only the third lowest bid, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) has awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Secondary School to Kares Engineering Inc – the company responsible for the problem-riddled construction of the Kato Secondary.
The bids for the reconstruction of the school were opened on June 23, 2022. Some nine companies were on record as having submitted bids for the project which is estimated to cost $622,375,321.
According to the NPTAB’s website the following bids were received – Platinum Investments Inc $679,122,111; Dry Rock Construction Inc $687,163,051; QCD Construction Inc $521,690,454; M&P Investment $606,636,675; S&K Construction Consultancy Service & General Supply $595,000,000; Dundas Construction Inc $ 620,000,000; CB General Contracting Service Inc $531,787,715; Builders Hardware General Supply & Construction $614,853,630 and Kares Engineering Inc $566,975,350.
It is unclear if Kares’ bid was the lowest responsive one despite being the third lowest that was submitted.
It is also unclear whether the evaluation committee of the NPTAB would have taken account of Kares’ performance in relation to the Kato school.
In an effort to understand whether the Ministry has made any special provisions to ensure there is no recurrence of the situation at Kato Secondary School, Stabroek News reached out to Minister of Education Priya Manickchand.
Manickchand, under whose tenure the construction of the Kato Secondary School commenced in 2013, said “it is hard to forget the issues with Kato Secondary School and we must ensure that we hold contractors liable when these things happen.”
Back in 2012, Kares Engineering was awarded the $728 million contract for the construction of a new secondary school at Kato in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni). The new school was constructed to ease overcrowding at the Paramakatoi Secondary.
Constructed by Kares Engineering at a cost of $728.1 million, the school could not be occupied after it was found to be riddled with major defects after construction ended in 2015. An audit by Rodrigues Architects Limited subsequently found that the building was unsafe for children and that at least $144 million would be required to fix the defects. Kares was subsequently allowed to complete all corrective works on the school, at no cost to the government, under the supervision of Vikab Engineering, which was selected to oversee the works at a cost of $29.2 million.
The school was officially commissioned in March of 2019 – some 7 years after work started.
Reinvigorated
Yesterday, Manickchand told Stabroek News that the Ministry is hoping that there is a reenergized, reinvigorated and robust effort to monitor projects to ensure that there is both quality and timely completion. She explained that a contract for the supervision of the project was awarded to consultant Marcel Gaskin – who also designed the school.
“We are already clear about what we wanted from the contractors not because we knew Kares was going to have the contract, we did not know that at the time, but it is a big enough undertaking and an important enough undertaking for us to finish in a timely manner and that is why we went in that direction [to have a supervisory consultant].
“The truth is we are going to have to rely on people’s professionalism and commitment to service. Once we have professionals hired to do jobs and Marcel is a professional, Kares are professionals and I was very clear yesterday [Wednesday] that we would have no hesitation in applying penalties such as liquidated damages as per the contract if there is any breach of the contract,” Manickchand related.
The minister added that she did not have a discussion with Kares Engineering, prior to the signing of the contract on Wednesday, and would not be doing so. She explained that she does not meet with contractors behind closed doors.
“I didn’t sit down personally with Kares. A contract was signed with Kares and publicly from the podium over a mic in the presence of an entire press corps I said what was expected and what would happen if those expectations were not met pursuant to the contract, not pursuant to my whim and fantasies,” she said.
Manickchand added that the Ministry will also have its own engineer and Education Officer to report on the progress of the project.
“On each new building now, because I find that there is a disconnect between civil works and the education delivery and we find that we are getting some buildings where people don’t understand children and education, we are attaching an Education Officer that has responsibility for reporting separately and independently how a particular project is coming along and what that means for [education] delivery.
“I also went on to explain [at the contract signing that] the purpose of the building should be understood not in an abstract way to all persons bidding to build schools and all things related to education. So that it’s more than a job, they have to understand how children’s lives can change or be adversely affected when they don’t do what they’re supposed to do. So the question is what are we doing to monitor this contracting company on this particular issue and I answered how we hope that it is something we have no problems with,” Manickchand said during the interview.
As it relates to Kato Secondary, Manickchand said that when the APNU+AFC government took office in 2015, the project was in its defects/liability period but no action was taken.
Back in 2016, Kares Engineering Director Radesh Rameshwar had rejected the allegations against his company. In a letter to the press, he said that the school was completed within budget and built within specifications as established by the Government of Guyana.
