Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On Chui Sai On said yesterday his government was confident that the Taipa section of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) will come into operation next year as scheduled, in spite of a recent ruling by the Court of Second Instance (TSI) concerning the project.
The court annulled the government’s contract with a company for the construction of the LRT depot and determined that the government would need to reassess the rival quotations submitted by seven construction companies.
Chui spoke to reporters at the airport yesterday before departing for Beijing where he will attend the opening session of the first plenary session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) today.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac is a member of Chui’s entourage to the national capital where Chui and Leong will also hold talks with central government officials on various matters.
In 2016, the government terminated the construction contract with the depot’s original contractor. The government then granted China Construction and Engineering (Macau) Company Limited the contract for the construction of the LRT depot in Cotai for 1.07 billion patacas in July 2016.
The Court of Second Instance (TSI) said in a statement last week that it had accepted an appeal by one of the rival construction companies – China Road and Bridge Corporation – which claimed that the government had violated its own criteria when assessing the quotations and project proposals submitted by the seven companies.
According to the statement, in its assessment the government gave the highest marks to China Construction and Engineering (Macau) Company Limited – 86.14 out of 100, while it gave China Road and Bridge Corporation 84.22, the second highest. The government then granted the former the contract for the project.
According to the statement, Chui waived an open bidding process in May 2016 for the construction of the LRT depot. The Transport Infrastructure Office (GIT) then subsequently asked the seven companies, including China Construction and Engineering (Macau) Company Limited and China Road and Bridge Corporation, to submit their quotations and proposals for the construction of the project.
According to the statement, China Road and Bridge Corporation subsequently filed an appeal with the Court of Second Instance. The company said that the government had misinterpreted a number of items in its assessment criteria when assessing its quotations and project proposals which may have caused the government to come up with the wrong marks.
According to the statement, the Court of Second Instance found that the government’s assessment process was “flawed”. The court determined that the government’s contract with China Construction and Engineering (Macau) Company Limited for the LRT deport project be annulled and that the government would need to recalculate the marks for the quotations submitted by the seven companies again.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Chui said that the government respected the ruling of the Court of Second Instance. He said that the government would file an appeal concerning the TSI ruling, adding that the construction of the project would meanwhile continue.
Chui said that he, as well as Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario and all the other government personnel responsible for the LRT project, were confident that the LRT Taipa section would come into service in 2019 as previously promised by the government.
Meanwhile, Chui also pledged that his government would use repossessed plots of land for future public housing projects.
Chui also said that he would meet officials of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) during his stay in the capital.
Chui is scheduled to return to Macau on Wednesday.
Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On speaks to reporters yesterday at the local airport upon departure to Beijing. Photo: GCS
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