Marathon session marks 100th sitting

THE 100th sitting of the Commission of Inquiry into the Piarco airport project, was yesterday observed with a marathon eight and a half hour session, all to accommodate Attorney Russell Martineau, SC.

Martineau was cross-examining Canadian architect David Scott, Principal of Scott Associates Inc. He insisted he had to finish yesterday, since he was unavailable until April. Martineau, leading Deborah Peake, represents Ameer Edoo, former Chairman of the Airports Authority (AA) who chaired a task force for the project. Scott under cross-examination, admitted he did not know how it came about that government ministers, who were on the ministerial committee overseering the project, did not attend his presentation, in October 17, 1996. At that presentation he was bidding to be selected as the preferred consultants with Birk Hillman Consultants (BHC). Told that Cabinet met the morning when he made his presentation, Scott said he had no knowledge of that and he couldn’t deny it but he had his suspicions.

Martineau, urging him to leave his suspicion out, suggested that he could not connect Edoo to the “hanky panky” with BHC, in that the ministers were present for their presentation. But Scott insisted that he would rely on his own opinion. Asked if he ever told the task force that his proposal for the new terminal building had received financing, Scott insisted he did at the presentation, although the minutes did not record it. Martineau labelled his statement a lie, but Scott hotly retorted that he took offence at the language. Asked if he was ever directed by Edoo to make a presentation of a Build Operate Transfer arrangement, Scott said yes, although not in those words and there was no documentary proof. 

Asked when, Scott recalled it was prior to October 9, 1996 when he arranged to come to Trinidad to make the presentation. He said Edoo told him “present what you have done” and all along it was known that his proposal was based on a BOT method. Scott also maintained that his team’s proposal was ready to start construction immediately and denied following the 1995 election when the new UNC government came into power, that his proposal was not ready. Martineau also put into evidence three letters supporting BHC as competent airport designers based on work done in Puerto Rico, St Croix and Jamaica. Asked by Martineau, if it was not fair to say that the decision of the task force to recommend BHC as the preferred consultant, was pre-ordained, Scott said that would only be so if the minutes of the first task force were ignored. At that meeting, it was unanimously agreed that BHC was preferred over SAI.

Asked if that was so, why did Edoo and another member of the task force go on trips to verify BHC’s credentials, Scott said he couldn’t comment. But he said it was morally wrong for Edoo not to tell him BHC had already been chosen, especially since he came on his “own nickel” to give a presentation. He said the task force wasted his time. Scott will remain in Trinidad until he is cross-examined by attorneys for Ish Galbaransingh, whom he also implicated in his evidence last September. The inquiry will continue at 9.30 am today.