Thursday, July 16, 2009

Home National Sports Business Lifestyles Religion Arts & Culture Pulse Spice Editorial letters Opinion Foodie Sportscope Real Talks Weekend Report PDF's Classifieds Contact About Us Archive Weather

Lawyer for rejected Intl. contractor: Time for NAD transparency By INDERIA SAUNDERS ~ Guardian Business Reporter ~ Inderia@nasguard.com: A local attorney representing one of the three companies placing a bid to act as GM for the first phase of the airport redevelopment project is calling for greater transparency in the awarding of other contracts still to come "Any contract that is a affiliated with the government should be a matter of public disclosure and public information," Ryan Pinder, the legal representative for bidder MCM Corp out of Florida, told Guardian Business Tuesday. "It should be open to public review or disclosure. "This is the principle behind the Freedom of Information Act that the government proposes to put in place and I say start with the airport contract." His statement follow the long-awaited selection of the Lynden Pindling International Airport redevelopment phase one general contractor. Officials at the Nassau Airport Development Co (NAD)—- formed by international airport management company YVRAS to oversee operations in The Bahamas — announced Ledcor Construction out of Canada had won the contract. Ledcor, headquartered in Vancouver, was one of three North American companies to submit bids for the multi-million dollar contract. It is also the same company that won the contract for a recent $117m upgrade to the domestic terminal at Vancouver International airport operated by the Vancouver International Airport Authority, parent company for YVRAS. It's this very connection that highlights the need for greater transparency, said Pinder. "My understanding is that Ledcor had the lowest price [and] I think they've had a history," Pinder said. "(it was) recommended to the board that all three companies were capable of doing the job and that the decision came down to price. "But I think Ledcor price was significantly lower than the other two." Still, Pinder points to the terms NAD presented at the outset of the bid, highlighting its assertion that a GM would not be decided by price only. Rather the winner's total package, including the extent to which it allowed for local contractor participation. The attorney maintains his client went to great efforts to include two Bahamians general contractors for the project as well as a host of other sub-contractors — a factor that should have helped compensate for MCM's higher bid. Both MCM and the unnamed third company's bid came in close to each other, Pinder argues, although he asserts the bid process wasn't in fact open. His client is interested to examining Ledcor's bid and comparing it in order to assure themselves the process was in fact even handed and that Bahamian companies will win a significant share of the airport work. "Where Ledcor was so dramatically lower, I question whether it's going to be a contract full of change orders in the leg because they can't meet bid," he added, "But we'll see when the time comes." Pinder is now encouraging greater transparency for phase two and three of the project — the larger elements of the project that are set to be lumped together. Still, he's concerned that the GM for phase one will have an advantage headed into other phases. The matter is a long-standing issue for local contractors, with officials at the Bahamian Contractors' Association several times calling for greater transparency in the bidding process for public contracts. They argue changes would assist government in eliminating the appearance of unfair bid awards. Ledcor will take the lead on construction of a 247,000 sq. ft. U.S. departures terminal and pier, as well as "1,000,000 sq. ft. of asphalt apron, expanded parking facilities and new roadways," according to NAD. Wednesday, July 1, 2009