Monday, 14 August – Contractors now have until August 31 to submit bids to participate in the prequalification process for the construction of the New West End Ferry Terminal. This project is being financed by the Government of the Virgin Islands through the CDB Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Loan.
The Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) published the initial request for pre-qualification on its website BVIRecovery.vg and on the Government of the Virgin Islands website at BVI.GOV.VG along with RDA social media platforms.
Nine firms inclusive of joint ventures responded to the opportunity by the 9th June, 2023 deadline. The submissions were then evaluated and shared with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for their ‘No Objection’.
RDA’s Director of Procurement John Primo stated, “Each submission was examined individually to confirm compliance with the requirements of the prequalification document issued.”
Mr. Primo continued, “Initial completeness checks were done on the documents of each firm to confirm whether the requested forms and supporting documents have been duly completed and submitted. As a result of this evaluation, it was determined that none of the submissions fully met the requirements of the prequalification notice nor submitted fully responsive prequalification documents.”
The specific areas that were cited as non-conforming to the West End Ferry Terminal’s pre-qualification requirements included:
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- Non submission of balance sheets for ALL the requested years.
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- Inclusion of registration documents e.g. Trade Licence
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- Incomplete forms with blank or missing information hence, the general and specific experiences could not be determined.
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- Association/joint ventures with firms which are not registered in eligible member countries.
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- Joint Venture members did not possess the requisite qualifications and experience.
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- Some firms did not meet the cash flow requirements.
- Insufficient references/experiences with regards to construction of quay walls, pile foundation works in marine conditions, revetment construction, reclamation works.
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After thorough assessment, the RDA revised the requirements with CDB’s approval, to ensure a successful procurement process that safeguards the integrity of the technical requirements and to ensure construction works are not compromised.
It is important to note that the experience and qualifications of sub-contractors are not taken into consideration during the prequalification process. The joint venture partners, however, must meet the requirements, combined or separately.
As part of executing the RDA’s three-pronged mandate to build local capacity and in line with the upcoming opportunity, RDA is inviting all contractors to our ‘Winning in Construction’ Procurement Workshop set for Thursday, 24 August 2023.
Topics to be covered include Financial Management in Construction, Satisfying Technical Requirements, Benefits of Joint Venture Agreements and Project Management post the Contract Award Period. Contractors desirous of attending this free workshop are encouraged to email to procurement@bvirecovery.vg to register.
The Virgin Islands Recovery Development Agency in its remit to build BVI Stronger, Smarter, Greener, Better, has been tasked to implement several projects and programmes across the Territory, in key sectors and measured by outcome statements identified by the Recovery to Development Plan.
The Construction of the New West End Ferry Terminal Project is being implemented in line with the “Resilient Infrastructure” Sector and is guided by the outcome statement: “Improved climate resilient and socially-inclusive infrastructure and institutions in the transport, water and sewerage, governance, education and national security sectors in the Virgin Islands.
