Call for appeals board to consider bid again

Simed International bv, represented by Alcom Enterprises Ltd, yesterday filed a judicial letter in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the director general of contracts, the Foundation for Medical Services, the Finance Minister and the Attorney General requesting that the tendering process for the Mater Dei Hospital be remitted to the appeals board.

Simed claimed that on October 28, 2003, the appeals board for public contracts had concluded that (the successful bidder) INSO had violated a tender condition as its tender had been modified after the deadline for submission of tenders had elapsed.

The board had also concluded it could not accept the concept that a clarification exercise implied the possibility that a bidder could change its suppliers and manufacturers, as had occurred.

The director of contracts was therefore obliged to recommend that INSO's tender be disqualified.

The appeals board had upheld the claims of Hospitalia International and Simed that Inso's tender should be rescinded.

Consequently, Simed declared, the board had in fact annulled the award to INSO on the basis that the tender was disqualified.

The governing law provided for definite recommendations to be made by the appeals board for the award of the tender. In this case, Simed said, the board had made a conditional recommendation for the tender to be awarded to Simed but had left it up to the FMS to establish the clarification process that had to take place.

Consequently, the board had not yet delivered a definitive recommendation as to who was to be awarded the tender.

Simed concluded by calling upon the authorities to remit the process to the appeals board to examine the clarifications made and so that the board could recommend to whom the tender ought to be awarded.

Dr Joseph M. Fenech and Dr Raphael Fenech Adami signed the judicial letter.