~ But verdict stalling project ~
PHILIPSBURG–Inso, the company which signed a contract last year to construct a new general hospital for St. Maarten, is considering legal action to be able to continue the project to construct a new medical facility for the country.
Inso said in a press release on Monday evening that it is “acting to enforce” its position by legal ways, “to defend the good name of the company” and its expertise in the specific field of hospital projects, but above all to resume as soon as possible the development of the hospital, a project of huge importance for all parties involved and especially for residents of St. Maarten.
Inso said the preliminary design for the new medical facility has been completed and has indicated that it is ready to start detailed design and construction activities. It noted, however, that it is unable to execute the contract due to the court judgement rendered at the end of a lawsuit filed by competitor Vamed. Vamed challenged the contract going to Inso and won. Inso said also that while the judicial procedure continues the implementation of the project has already suffered serious delays.
Health Minister Emil Lee had said on Wednesday last that Government is also considering taking legal action against Vamed.
“We are dismayed by the motivations argued by our competitor, due to which the court has issued its verdict,” Inso Caribbean Area Manager Alessandro Cambri said in the press statement. “It’s very hard for us to understand the reason of such a situation. Our offer has obtained a very high quality score during the technical evaluation carried out by five different teams of independent international advisors with proven experience in hospital projects worldwide and specifically in the Caribbean. What’s surprising the most is that the advisors have evaluated all the aspects of Inso’s offer in a transparent and in-depth process that has no precedent in the history of public procurements in St. Maarten, but nonetheless groundless allegations by Vamed have managed to hinder the development of the project.”
“We also offered the best price and it is time to debunk the theory that the price was abnormally low. We have carried out hospital projects for over 30 years and we can easily demonstrate that our price is definitely in line with parameters expected for buildings of this type in the Caribbean. Based on the data we have collected in years of experience worldwide and specifically in the Caribbean area, where we have participated in hospital projects and tenders such as the new national hospital of St. Lucia, the technical platform of the Fort de France hospital in Martinique and many others, not only are we extremely comfortable with the price we offered for the St. Maarten hospital, but we consider the economic offers made by our competitors extremely high and considerably less favourable for the Government and people of St. Maarten,” Cambri added.
Inso said it is “acting to enforce” its position by legal ways, to defend “the good name of the company” and its expertise in the specific field of hospital projects, but above all to resume as soon as possible the development of the hospital, a project of huge importance for all parties involved and especially for the citizens of St. Maarten.
Inso signed an agreement on September 19, 2016, for the construction of the new hospital after submitting the most competitive offer.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/63796-inso-considering-legal-action-says-preliminary-design-of-hospital-done
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