The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) yesterday defended the award of the reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Secondary School to Kares Engineer-ing Inc, stating that it was the lowest responsive bid.
On August 24, the $566.9 million contract was signed by the Ministry of Education and Kares Engineering for the reconstruction of the school which was destroyed by fire. The awarding of the contract to Kares has raised questions owing to the company’s poor performance on the Kato Secondary School in 2012.
The NPTAB statement came in response to Tuesday’s Stabroek News Editorial which called on it to defend the award of the project to Kares.
The statement said that it is not the policy of NPTAB to justify its awards in a public discourse but added that the “imputation” of the Edi-torial deserves a response. It explained that NPTAB selects a three-member evaluation team that is deemed to be independent and nominated by sectoral ministries, adding that mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that the members of the Evaluation Committee are not drawn from the procuring entity.
It reminded that the opening of tenders is public and streamed live with the minutes of the proceedings posted to the NPTAB website.
“This allows all participating bidders to see and hear the tender opening process and to interact with the process if necessary. NPTAB maintain minutes of its Board meeting. The recommendations of the Evaluation are considered by the full Board of NPTAB and a decision is taken on the recommendation,” the statement informed.
The North Ruimveldt Secondary School was destroyed by fire on June 19, 2021. The new building will measure 432ft (length) x 30ft (width) x 42ft (height). It will have three storeys and will accommodate 450 to 500 students. The school will be fitted with science laboratories, Information Tech-nology laboratories, new classrooms, teacher accommodation, a sanitary block and a modern external structure. The project period is 14 months.
Specifically addressing the Kares award, the NPTAB said that 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 said that the Evaluation Committee was empanelled on June 27 and the report was submitted to NPTAB on August 2. It explained that while Kares was the third lowest bid, the evaluators found that the two lower bids were non-responsive.
The lowest bid was submitted by QCD Construc-tion Inc but was deemed non-responsive since it did not meet the outlined criteria. The ministry’s statement explained that Evaluation Criterion H required that the bidder “Demonstrate specific construction experience by providing copies of contracts with previous clients that show the bidder has completed two (2) contracts of similar nature, size and complexity of a minimum value of 50% of Bid Price within the past five (5) years”. However, QCD Construction failed to submit proof of contracts listed in their bid submission.
Proof of ownership
The company also failed to provide proof of ownership for the equipment listed in their document which meant that they also did not satisfy Evaluation Criterion P which requires bidders to show “Ownership and or possession of key equipment.” As per the standard, bidders “must provide evidence to show that the key equipment are available in the specified number for the project; Ownership and or possession can be demonstrated by providing the licenses, purchase documents, registrations, agreement to lease or rent from a recognized leasing Agency, and/or affidavit of ownership, An agreement to lease or rent must be dated within one month of the bid opening. Affidavit of ownership must be duly signed by a Commissioner of Oaths or Justice of Peace and the list of equipment must be endorsed by same if is it supplied as an attachment to the affidavit.”
The ministry further stated that QCD Construction did not satisfy Evaluation Criterion J which required that the “Bidder must provide a letter of Authorization for the Procuring Entity to seek reference from the bidder’s Bank and/or Surety relating to the financial capacity evidence supplied. The document must be dated within one month of the bid opening date and be clearly legible.” Additionally, QCD Construction failed to establish that it possesses the financial capability to execute the project.
Bidders are required to show evidence of financial capacity representing 25% of the bid price. The bank letter submitted by QCD Construction did not comply with the requirement since it indicated no definite figures, according to the statement.
“Given that the bidder did not submit a letter giving the Agency authority to seek reference from their bank, the evaluation committee was unable to determine their exact financial capacity,” the statement indicated.
Meanwhile, CB General Contracting Inc submitted the second lowest bid. Like QCD, that company failed to prove that it possesses the requisite construction experience. While it did submit a letter of credit from the bank it failed to meet the required 25% of the bid price.
Evaluation Criterion O required that the “Bidder must provide a letter stating any or no terminated or abandonment of projects within the last three years. The letter must be dated within one month of the bid opening date”. However, the company has an abandoned project which it failed to mention, according to the ministry.
“Tender submitted by Kares Engineering Inc (bid price $566,975,350) was the third lowest bid, met all the requirements of the bid and was deemed responsive. It is also important to note that Kares Engineering is not currently debarred from bidding nor as far as NPTAB records go, was never debarred from bidding. Matters that are outside of the Evaluation Criteria cannot be used in adjudicating a bid,” the statement explained.
Yesterday, Stabroek News reported that despite Kares’ track record the NPTAB cannot prevent it from getting contracts. Dealing with errant contractors falls within the remit of the procuring entities and the Public Procurement Commission.
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 Paramakatoi Secondary.
Constructed by Kares Engineering at a cost of $728.1 million, the school was not occupied for long period after as 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.
