The Office of the Contractor General (OCG) says the process which led to the awarding of the 35-year Concession Agreement for the Highway 2000 project was fair, transparent and meritorious.

French construction company, Bouygues Travaux Public was awarded the contract in keeping with the tenets of the Contractor General Act, the OCG said in a report.

In October 2006, a group of concerned citizens led by Dr. Martin Aub and his wife, Beth, filed a complaint with the OCG contending that the remaining phases of the highway project should be subject to competitive tendering.

Interest

In an interview with The Gleaner, Dr. and Mrs. Aub argued that clause 6.3 of the Concession Agreement between the National Road Operating and Constructing Company and Trans-Jamaican Highway allows the latter to declare interest in building Phase 2A (Bushy Park to Ocho Rios) and/or Phase 2B (Williamsfield to Montego Bay), but that this clause is illegal, as neither of these phases had been put out for competitive bidding.

Contractor General Greg Christie, who conducted a probe into the Highway 2000 concession and administration agreement, said Cabinet had given approval for the construction of phase 2A of the highway to precede the construction of phase 1B. It was pointed out that the Concession agreement for Highway 2000 has various provisions for the construction of phases 1 and 2 of the project.

Re-tendering

The OCG explained that, if prescribed conditions were met by Bouygues, this would permit the company to continue work on the other phases of the highway without the need for re-tendering.

The OCG said the awarding of the concession was the subject of competitive tendering.

"There is no evidence of impropriety or irregularity in the award and implementation of the Concession Agreement governing Highway 2000," the report concluded.

According to the OCG, the Concession Agreement provides the developer with the option of constructing phase 1A (Kingston to Sandy Bay); Phase 1B (Sandy Bay to Williamsfield and a right of first refusal to construct Phase 2 (Spanish Town to Ocho Rios and Williamsfield to Montego Bay).