Collapsed talks with Kuwaiti firm force government to retender road project

The Grenada government is set to reopen bidding on a multimillion-dollar road project after failing to reach an agreement with a Kuwaiti-based construction company.

Finance Minister Nazim Burke said the way has now been cleared following a letter from the Kuwaiti Fund which provided the EC$52-million (US$19.2-million) loan to build 35 kilometres of farm roads.

The Tillman Thomas-led government had written to the Kuwait Fund complaining that Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) was refusing to lower its preliminary charges under the contract.

"They wrote back to us and said we have no objection to you ceasing all negotiations with the CCC and to put the contract back out to international tender. You do not even have to confine yourself to a Kuwait firm," said Burke.

"You can hire any firm as long as it is done in accordance with Kuwait's international bidding practices," he said, reading from the letter.

CCC has been insisting that 60 per cent of the loan secured from the Kuwaiti Fund must be used for preliminary and administrative expenses while the government argues that the figure should not exceed 35 per cent.

More than 200 construction workers are expected to be re-employed when the project, to build an estimated 18 feeder roads, gets under way.

The Technical and Allied Workers Union had been calling on the government to send the matter to a tribunal for arbitration, a position also supported by the CCC.

Burke believes that the project could get under way within an eight-month period.

- CMC