A multi million-euro contract for the construction of a mini-hospital in Paola will be reviewed after the Court of Appeal expressed “serious doubts on the evaluation process”.
Chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi rejected appeals filed by SP BB International JV after the Public Contracts Review Board decided that a fresh evaluation process should be conducted by a new team of evaluators.
The company, comprising Bonnici Brothers Projects Ltd, Ray Vella and Co. Ltd, Pantalesco and Shapoorji, an Indian firm that served as contractors to the now disbanded Vitals Global Healthcare, had won the €26 million-contract by the Health Ministry despite its offer being almost €4 million higher than the cheapest bid.
However, the Appeals Court declared that the way the tender had been evaluated was “of concern” and raised “serious doubts on the process”.
Government sources told Times of Malta that though the tender as such had not been annulled, the whole process involving the four competing bidders would have to start again and new evaluation committee members would be appointed.
It is the board’s duty to make sure that things are done correctly
The Court of Appeal objected to submissions made by SP BB International JV, which argued that the Public Contracts Review Board had no remit to state that a bank guarantee, requested in the tender, was not in line with public procurement rules.
Since the tender involved millions of euros in public funds and the Public Contracts Review Board had noticed an irregularity, “it was not only its remit but also its duty to make sure that things are done correctly”, the Chief Justice commented.
“The court is also concerned with the fact that the evaluation board did not even notice the irregularity of the banking guarantee and this raises doubts on whether there are other factors the evaluating board did not notice,” he remarked.
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Last March, the Health Ministry announced, after a long tendering process, it had awarded the tender to design and build the mini-hospital in Paola to SP BB International JV.
When it emerged the winning bidder’s offer was €4 million higher than the cheapest – considered by industry sources an unusual occurrence in government tenders – the other three competitors, disqualified by the evaluation board, contested the decision, paying €50,000 each to have their case heard.
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The Public Contracts Review Board, chaired by Anthony Cassar, expressed “serious doubts on how the evaluation process was executed” and ordered that all bids were to be appraised again by a new evaluation committee. The board also commented on the competence and qualifications of some of the members of the evaluation committee appointed by the government.
The Paola health centre is meant to be running by 2020. However, the project is already significantly behind schedule, and the court decision is likely to delay it further.
EU funds will cover most of the project’s costs.