Firm objects to transformer contract award

Ragonesi & Co. Ltd, in its own capacity and on behalf of the Turkish company Alstom Elektrii Endustisi AS, yesterday filed a judicial protest in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the Director of Contracts and Enemalta.

Ragonesi claimed that Enemalta had issued a call for tenders to be submitted for the supply of a 90MVA transformer. The tender was to be adjudicated by the packets system as were all contracts that exceeded Lm250,000 in value.

According to this system, each tenderer had to present guarantees, information about itself and details about delivery and execution of the contract in the first packet. The second packet had to contain the technical specifications and the third would contain the contract price and other financial considerations.

The packets were to be opened in public and, should any one packet not satisfy the contract requirements, the other packets submitted by the same tenderer could not be opened.

On January 17, the Director of Contracts declared that the contract was to be split into two separate parts. He decided in favour of the company EFACEC Energie SA insofar as the major part of the tender went, with a contract value of U1,533,410 for a main transformer. The lesser part of the tender was awarded to Ragonesi & Co. Ltd, which was to supply an earthing transformer valued at U115,872.

Ragonesi & Co, Ltd declared that in terms of legislation the contract could not have been split into two separate parts for the tender documents themselves stipulated that the tender had to evaluated and awarded as a whole.

Furthermore, it submitted that the contract for the supply of the main transformer was not in accordance with the tender specifications and that the offer submitted in this regard ought not to have been considered for it was not up to specifications.

Enemalta had, in a public meeting, confirmed that the offer submitted by EFACEC Energie SA was not up to specifications and had decided to split the tender into two parts. This decision by Enemalta, Ragonesi & Co. Ltd said, was totally irregular and ultra vires for it had always been the practice that if a tender was not in accordance to specifications it had to be discarded.

Ragonesi & Co. Ltd declared that the Contracts Committee had decided, on March 26, to award the tender in accordance with the decision taken by the Director of Contracts on January 17. This had led Ragonesi & Co. Ltd to sustain damages.

The company called upon the Director of Contracts and Enemalta to immediately meet for the liquidation of the damages it had sustained.

Dr Franco Vassallo signed the protest.