Seventeen firms expressed interest in the multimillion-dollar project to lengthen the runway and upgrade facilities at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, but only five will move to the next stage of the bidding process, Deputy Premier Dr. Kedrick Pickering said Monday.
Speaking before the House of Assembly, Dr. Pickering said that with the “expression of interest” phase of the project complete, officials have identified the finalists who will move on to the “request for proposal” phase.
During that stage, the five companies will be given a more comprehensive description of the project’s requirements and then will be asked to submit detailed proposals about how they will plan, design, finance and build the project, he said.
Dr. Pickering, who is also the minister of natural resources and labour, said he hopes the RFP stage will conclude by the end of this month, so that negotiations with the chosen contractor can be complete by the end of the year. That timeframe, he added, will allow for presentations to be made to Cabinet and Caucus so that the chosen firm can “move construction forward” by January.
See the Sept. 6, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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