The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet Minister yesterday asserted that the Government "will get the best result for the Bahamian people" after receiving 17 'expressions of interest' (EoIs) for the New Providence landfill.

Romauld Ferreira, minister of the environment and housing, conceded to Tribune Business that the process was already behind schedule, but emphasised: "We can't sacrifice getting it right for speed and time".

Interested parties had to submit their landfill management proposals by December 15, 2017, with the offers scheduled to be opened four days later. However, Mr Ferreira yesterday said the submissions were only now being handed over to a Cabinet-appointed evaluation team which will recommend which bidders qualify for the Request for Proposal (RFP) round.

While acknowledging the importance of meeting deadlines, the Minister emphasised the Minnis administration's determination to avoid a "repeat" of the former government's experience with Renew Bahamas, which "walked away with its tail between its legs" from managing the New Providence landfill in October 2016.

The 17 bidders, according to a list provided by Mr Ferreira, are BISX-listed Bahamas Waste; Providence Advisors, the Bahamian investment house; Bahamas WTP Ltd; Clleen Water and Power; RRI Global; Eastern Waste Systems; OMNI Corporate Services; Marine Contractors Inc; Bahamas Processing and Trading; Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales; New Providence Smart Power; Gold Seal Industries; Supernova Dominicana; EnviroQuip; Apapa International (Nassau); NP Eco-Park Ltd; and EBT Services International and Gel Tech Solutions.

One name missing from the list is Stellar Energy, the waste-to-energy proponent, which was at the heart of the Letter of Intent (LoI) controversy surrounding now-minister of agriculture and marine resources, Renward Wells, when he was part of the former Christie government.

Stellar had repeatedly given notice of its intention to bid on the latest landfill tender, and it is possible the company may be part of one of the 17 EoIs. Several of the bids are likely to involve groups or consortiums of investors. Providence Advisors, for instance, is likely to have partnered with waste disposal companies in its offer.

Providence Advisors, headed by well-known financier Kenwood Kerr, had teamed with the all-Bahamian Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG), a 10-strong consortium of local waste services providers, to submit a bid on the Request for Proposal (RFP) launched in the last days of the Christie administration. That process was subsequently annulled by the new government.

However, Mr Ferreira yesterday revealed that group had now split into two competing bids - the Bahamas Waste offer, and the one submitted by Providence Advisors.

"We had some delays in opening the Expressions of Interest, but we've received 17 in total," the Minister told Tribune Business. "That's a good number to start with; some local, and some from outside.

"Remember that we previously received two. Those same entities as before have submitted an Expression of Interest, but the only difference is that the Bahamian group has split into two separate entities."

Mr Ferreira said the 17 submissions, compared to just the two received by the former Christie administration, justified the Government's decision to cancel the previous RFP process and launch the current one.

"With the number of players, the number of people, we feel pretty confident we'll get the best result for the Bahamian people," he told Tribune Business. "We have some options. What we're going to do now is turn it over to a technical committee that will be evaluating the EoIs.

"There is a team that has been composed, and appointed by the Cabinet, to review the EoIs. They will do independent assessments and get back to us as to who to use going forward."

Tribune Business sources said bidders on the landfill management contract had expected to hear by now whether they had qualified for the next round, which involves paying a $10,000 non-refundable deposit to the Government to obtain the full RFP, and then submit a more detailed offer by end-February 2018.

The clock is already ticking on that deadline, but the EoIs are only now just starting to be reviewed and assessed. Mr Ferreira said "illnesses" to key government staff meant the December 19, 2017, deadline for opening the EoIs was missed, and added: "Unforeseen circumstances is the best way I can describe it."

He added, though, that the committee's review was unlikely to "take more than a fortnight", and promised: "We're expecting to have all this wrapped up in very short order. This means potential bidders should know where they stand by around mid-January.

"At the end of this process we have to have something that works to the satisfaction of all concerned, that is fair and transparent, and achieved the proper result," Mr Ferreira said, "which is the deconstruction, remediation, renovation and operation of the New Providence landfill.

"Speed and time is important, don't get me wrong, but we can't sacrifice getting it right for speed and time. Deadlines are important, but it's better to have clarity.... I do understand the timelines, but we've worked long and hard to get the Terms of Reference and scope of works right, and ensure that all parties have an opportunity to submit EoIs."

Mr Ferreira said combating the landfill's potential environmental and health hazards, and ensuring the facility's long-term economic viability, were high priorities for the Minnis administration.

"If affects the entire island of New Providence and is a long-standing problem," he added. "We have the determination and political will to deal with it.

"It's the same way we feel with Clifton Pier and legislative gaps when it comes to environmental legislation. These are the 'big three' things we intend to tackle on behalf of the Bahamian people and move the country forward into the 21st century."

The Government's Heads of Agreement with Baha Mar's new owner committed the Government to remediating the landfill's numerous issues by December 31, 2017.

That deadline has since passed, but Mr Ferreira said he was unaware of any pressure from Baha Mar's new owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), to fix the facility.

"I'm sure the new owners want the situation resolved as soon as possible to everyone's satisfaction," he told Tribune Business. "This is a high priority item for us.

"We need to learn from the mistakes of the last experiment, when Renew Bahamas was engaged and they left with their tail between their legs. We need not repeat that.

"The only way not to repeat that is not to rush the process. We feel we've given everyone sufficient time, and will continue with sufficient haste to finish this off, but don't want to compromise the quality of what we get."

Qualifying bidders were originally supposed to submit their technical and financial proposals to the Ministry of Finance's Tenders Board by February 28. The proposals will then be evaluated by the review/selection team, and a preferred bidder will be selected by March 15, 2018.

The hope is to complete a deal with the preferred bidder by end-April 2018.