Sunway free to bid

At a media briefing held during a tour of the tower, on Richmond Street, Minister of Public Administration Rudrawatee Nan Gosine-Ramgoolam and Minister of Legal Affairs Prakash Ramadhar said they could not rule out Sunway.

Asked by Newsday if Sunway would be disqualified from bidding on the contracts for the fit-out of the building, Gosine-Ramgoolam said, “We can’t say anything on that.”

“Everything is based on reasons and on cost. They are providers,” she said.

The media was given a tour of the empty building which is yet to be furnished and which forms part of the $2 billion Government Campus Plaza. The tour was to commemorate the handing over of the building–estimated to cost more than $380 million yesterday–to the Government.

Ramadhar and Gosine-Ramgoolan said the controversial building will be used to house the Ministry of Legal Affairs and other ministries such as the Ministry of the People and Social Development and the Immigration Division of the Ministry of National Security.

Neither could say when tenders will go out for the furnishing of the building–which could cost as much as its construction, according to experts. They said more design work will have to be done to meet the needs of the differing ministries coming into the building.

At yesterday’s tour members of the media were shown a large amphitheatre at the third floor of the building. The purpose of this facility was not made clear, though Udecott staff present said the facility was one for the entire Government Campus, which comprises about half-a-dozen different buildings. Udecott line Minister Mary King, who was expected to attend the event, did not attend.