Contracts committee considering hospital waste tender

The General Contracts Committee is expected to decide on the new hospital waste tender within the next few weeks, director general (contracts) Joseph V. Spiteri said yesterday.

He was speaking after a four-hour public hearing held following an appeal by IWT Group Malta Ltd against the Contracts Committee's decision to award to Serrabico Medical Supplies Ltd the tender for the equipment which would replace the hospital incinerator.

Nine tenders had initially been submitted in October 2000, of which four - all presenting the Sanitec Microwave system - were shortlisted by the board.

The other five were eliminated before the financial package even started being considered.

These included IWT which was representing Tempico's Rotoclave waste solution. IWT appealed against the committee's decision to eliminate them and won.

The committee then considered shortlisted offers based on the price factor and on October 22 awarded the contract to one of the shortlisted companies, Serrabico Medical Supplies Ltd. Serrabico had tendered at Lm548,000 for the supply of machinery and two years of operations.

IWT appealed, arguing that its offer was cheaper, and it was given a chance to make its case at yesterday's public hearing.

The committee will now be meeting on Tuesday and a decision is expected within weeks.