The recent award of the contract for the expansion of the East Coast Demerara Road from Better Hope to Belfield has attracted much criticism from the Opposition political parties. The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) had recommended to Cabinet that the award be made to the third lowest bidder. The latter, however, withheld its “no objection” on the grounds that the lowest bidder should have been given the nod. The NPTAB, through its evaluation committee, reconsidered the matter and amended its recommendation accordingly, thereby paving the way for the award of the contract to China Railway Group.
Section 54 of the Procurement Act provides Cabinet with the right to review all procurements whose values exceed G$15 million. Cabinet conducts its review based on a streamlined tender evaluation report and may object to the award of a procurement contract only if the procuring entity fails to comply with applicable procurement procedures. If Cabinet objects to an award, the matter is referred to the procuring entity for further review.
The following four bids were submitted after expressions of interest from Chinese companies were solicited and
