Super Industrial Services Ltd (SISL) has remained mum on its plans to outsource the $1.6 billion Beetham water recycling plant. Several attempts to reach the project manager at SISL, Joachim Reinert, were again unsuccessful yesterday, with one person at the Couva-based company taking messages and promising to get them to him. Several calls to Minister of Energy Kevin Ramnarine were also unsuccessful as calls to his cellphone went unanswered and he did not return voice messages.
On Sunday, the T&T Guardian exclusively published parts of a confidential tender document which showed SISL was seeking to retain other companies to begin the hefty project. The bid documents carry a deadline date of September 5, 2014 for all submissions. The document carried a strict confidentiality clause, binding the bidders and barring them from revealing any details of the bid or the project to the media or any unauthorised persons.
It also bars the sub-contracted workers from speaking about the project "during or long after their period" on the job. The document does not specify what that “long after” period is in terms of months or years. It also blocked the applicants from hiring any additional personnel to complete the project.
The People’s National Movement again called for a commission of enquiry into the award of the contract over the weekend. Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley had called for an enquiry during debate in Parliament earlier this year on the award of the contract to SIS. The project was awarded to SISL on February 28 before the long Carnival weekend. It was awarded to SISL despite its bid being almost $400 million higher than its nearest competitor, Altatec.
The local company, according to its website, was founded in 1979 but the company was officially registered in 1985 and incorporated in 1992, according to Companies Registry documents. The company was founded by businessman Krishna Lalla but by June and again in November 2013 Lalla transferred his final shares in the company to his sons.