The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) yesterday announced that it has decided to cancel the procurement process for the Santa Rosa Housing Development.
In a letter to contractors who bid on the project, HDC managing director, Jayselle Mc Farlane, said the statutory body also cancelled its July 30, 2024 notice of intention to award a contract to China Harbour Engineering Company (T&T).
The HDC decision came hours after the Office of Procurement Regulator published two notices in yesterday's newspapers, announcing that two of the bidders on the Santa Rosa project had filed challenge proceedings against the HDC's procurement process.
The two companies challenging the HDC's intention to award were Woodgreen Construction Services and NH International (Caribbean).
The companies submitted their challenges to the Office of the Procurement Regulator on Tuesday.
Before public bodies can award contracts, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Properties Act requires them to send an intention-to-award notice to other bidders. The public body is also required to provide a 14-day standstill period during which bidders can request challenge proceedings into the procurement processes.
The Chinese company emerged as the preferred bidder in the HDC procurement process, proposing to build 644 units for a total of $475.83 million and a per unit cost of $738,871.13.
Woodgreen Construction was the second-ranked bidder, proposing to construct 226 housing units for a total $173.77 million, at a per unit cost of $768,928.14.
NH International (Caribbean) Ltd was the sixth-ranked bidder, proposing to build 262 housing units at a total cost of $259.61 million and at a per unit cost of $990,884.43.
The intention by the HDC to award the contract to China Harbour had attracted criticism from the Opposition United National Congress.
In a press release on August 5, Opposition MP, Roodal Moonilal described the intention to award the housing contract to China Harbour, as “abominable, corrupt, and highly offensive.”
“In a most clandestine manner, the Housing Development Corporation is awarding the contract to China Harbour despite its tender being larger than eight other bidders, all owned and operated by Trinidadians and Tobagonians,” Moonilal said. Moonilal recalled that China Harbourwas blacklisted by the World Bank for bribery.
In response to Moonilal, HDC said the contract went through through three stages of procurement, which did not involve the HDC’s board of directors, the Housing Minister or the Minister in the Ministry.
HDC said at stage three, the tenders were evaluated by an independent evaluation committee comprising two technical subject matter experts, one financial officer, and a procurement officer.
An award recommendation was made by the evaluation committee and submitted to the named procurement officer and the Procurement Disposal and Advisory Committee (PDAC) before it was sent to the accounting officer for approval. Once approved, the intention to award was initiated.
“The former line minister’s suggestion that the HDC would consider conducting business with a dubious organisation is inflammatory, inaccurate, and designed to bring the HDC into odium and public ridicule,” the HDC said.
The decision by the HDC In a letter to cat was canceling