Cateau agrees Baksh ‘scuttled’ Cabinet directive

US based company Calmaquip got favourable treatment from former Works and Transport Minister Sadiq Baksh. The company, through an irregular process, received the contract to provide speciality equipment for the Piarco airport under CP 13, but although Peter Cateau felt it was wrong he went ahead and recommended Calmaquip as contractors, out of fear of losing his job. He also agreed that Baksh scuttled a Cabinet directive to hire the Director of Highways as part of the technical team to oversee the project.

Cateau made the admission yesterday when he continued his evidence at the Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco Airport Development Project. Cateau, questioned by lead attorney for the Commission, Theodore Guerra SC, said although he made the recommendation for Calmaquip to get CP 13, he was left out of everything else relating to Calmaquip and only found out the contract had been awarded after the contract was signed. Asked why he thought he was left out, Cateau said “maybe when it comes to making straight forward professional decisions, Peter Cateau is left out.” He later said he was influenced by Baksh to recommend Calmaquip as contractors. Cateau said he was not in support of the recommendation by the Airports Authority (AA) that Calmaquip get the contract, because of the irregular process involved. He said the original budget for CP 13 was $72 million, but because the AA had obtained financing for the contract which was guaranteed by government, the sum rose to $183 million.

Cateau said it was decided at a site meeting that AA would take over the CP 13 contract from NIPDEC. Cateau said he was told by Baksh that financing for CP 13 would be sourced outside the $650 million project budget, and financing would be sourced through a finance, supply, install method. That meant the contractor would secure his own finance to supply the equipment which it would install. Cateau said the AA Board, chaired by Tyrone Gopee, after recommending that Calmaquip be awarded the contract, went on the international market to secure the loan to finance the contract, which was guaranteed by government, although it was Calmaquip’s duty to raise its own funds. Cateau said he raised the issue with Baksh about the way the contract was executed, after he learnt Calmaquip was awarded the contract.

However he said Baksh told him “things will sort themselves out.” Cateau said he knew that would not be so. He agreed with Guerra that Calmaquip got favourable treatment on the project, because in addition to having the AA source its financing to provide speciality equipment, Calmaquip also got the maintenance contracts for the air conditioning, plumbing and electrical services at the terminal building. Those services were installed by different contractors. Cateau said Calmaquip’s maintenance contract for the speciality equipment was in the sum of US$20 million over a 10-year period. The contract as amended by Baksh to include the maintenance of the other services, amounted to US$50 million over a ten year period, said Cateau. Cateau agreed with Chairman Clinton Bernard that the entire process in awarding Calmaquip its contracts was “irregular”.

Asked why Calmaquip may have been favoured by Baksh, Cateau said he couldn’t say. Cateau also said Baksh and the AA scuttled a Cabinet directive to hire R Castro, the Director of Highways, as part of the technical team overseeing the project. Cateau said both he and Castro were interviewed for the job as client representative. He said although Castro was senior to him, maybe he got the position because he is a Quantity Surveyor. Cateau will continue his evidence this morning.