Finance Minister Colm Imbert has not verified the authenticity of a report being circulated by the Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar which appears to be prepared by consulting firm Mott McDonald (MML).
Persad-Bissessar referred to the document when claiming there were major problems, delays and possible corruption at the ongoing ANR Robinson International Airport expansion project in Tobago during a UNC meeting earlier this week.
Speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing on December 5, three days after the Opposition Leader made her claims at a cottage meeting on December 2, Imbert told reporters he did not know what report they were speaking about, and that if the report was authentic, it was outdated.
The 40-page report was completed after multiple visits and stakeholder meetings, with the last site visit on January 26, 2024. The report was completed before February 15, 2024, based on timelines in the document.
In analysing the document, which was obtained from the Opposition Leader, Newsday noted Mott McDonald (MML) had proposed three alternatives for completing the ANR Robinson International Airport expansion project. These were keeping but adjusting the current structure, replacing/reinforcing the government's agents, or replacing the design and build contractor.
In its ANRRIA Terminal Building Construction Support final report, MML said the project structure was that the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Nidco) was the employer, with the Finance Ministry as the project financer, China Railway Construction (Caribbean) Company Ltd (CRCC) and Acuitas as the employer's representative and International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) engineer. Acuitas was hired in September 2023, prior to which Nidco occupied the role from May 2022-September 2023.
For the first option, MML said keeping the current structure of the contract meant that Nidco and Acuitas would need to actively engage with CRCC within a maximum of 45 days, address at the time unresolved claims, agree on a viable programme assessed by all parties that would not stop or cause further delays and recommit to the original contract as FIDIC Silver Book for turnkey contracting and 730 days (two years) for project completion.
MML said that option could result in the completion of the project by the first quarter of 2025. However, it said it considered the outcome highly doubtful, taking into account the project's track record, the complexities and potential obstacles going forward that are inherent to an accelerated airport project.
The second option involved a partial replacement of employer's roles. MML said Nidco would retain its formal contractual position as the employer of the contractor, but Nidco and Acuitas would step back from their roles as employer's representative, which MML said had been acting as a project management office.
MML said the agency agreement would be modified to make it clear that the ultimate owner of the airport would be the government represented by the Finance Ministry
