Panday allowed BHC too much power

FORMER Prime Minister Basdeo Panday allowed Birk Hillman Consultants (BHC) too much power on the Piarco Airport Project and ignored NIPDEC’s warnings that this was “dangerous for the success of the project.” This was the testimony of former NIPDEC general manager Noel Garcia as the Commission of Inquiry into the Project continued yesterday at the Caribbean Court of Justice.

Under questioning from NIPDEC attorney Christopher Hamel-Smith, Garcia said NIPDEC chairman Edward Bayley told him in September 1997 about a Cabinet decision to transfer control of the project from the Airports Authority (AA) to NIPDEC and on March 31, 1998, an agreement to that effect was reached between NIPDEC and the former UNC government. However, Garcia said a previous contract signed between the AA and BHC, which gave the latter extensive powers on the project, remained intact. He said those powers included responsibilities for architectural design, engineering and being project managers on a fast-track method. Garcia said he was “outraged” because NIPDEC had extensive experience on such projects for the government and the concentration of all these functions in BHC’s hands was “highly unusual and inadvisable in the interest of the Government and the project”.

According to Garcia, BHC claimed monies for work done on the CP6 package although no work was being done on that aspect of the project. Garcia said NIPDEC’s Board of Directors agreed with his recommendation that BHC’s powers be suspended. he wrote to Works Ministry Permanent Secretary Justin Paul on the matter and even “raised it directly” with Panday. The former NIPDEC GM said no response was received from Government “urgent or otherwise”. Garcia said talks were held to either give the Northern York Coosal (NYC) consortium a reduced scope of works on CP6 or monetary compensation, but NYC demanded a larger scope of works on the project. However, Garcia continued, Works Ministry representative, Peter Cateau recommended an even broader scope than what NYC was demanding and the Cabinet subsequently accepted his recommendation. Garcia claimed Bayley and NIPDEC Director, Trevor Romano had more “hands on” involvement and this was “highly unusual” for projects of this nature. He alleged that Bayley inserted Clause 213 into NIPDEC’s March 1998 agreement with Government in order to award the CP3 contract to NYC.

Garcia further alleged that other pillars of an infrastructure to achieve this goal were bonding, amending tender rules and installing Ernst and Young as NIPDEC’s auditor. He added that when the agreement was sent to the Solicitor-General for vetting, the Solicitor-General said Clause 213 was “a clever attempt to maintain the status quo”. Garcia will continue his testimony when the hearing resumes today. Cateau and current AA chairman Linus Rogers will also testify before the Commission today.