Objection filed as Bonnici Brothers snatch latest tender from Wasteserv

A call for the revision of a €4.6 million tender award for the development of a park in Marsaskala was filed as Wasteserv decided to give the contract to Bonnici Brothers despite its more expensive offer.

According to information published by he Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB), Vassallo Builders filed an objection requesting a cancellation of the tender or its cancellation.

The company submitted a bid that was almost a million less than that submitted by Bonnici Brothers. Government tenders are usually awarded to the lowest bidder.

Vassallo Builders bid was €3.9 million while Bonnici Brothers’ was €4.6 million.

In its complaint, Vassallo Builders said there was no reason for its elimination, as the Department of Contracts’ electronic tendering system, not the bidders, was responsible for a claimed lack of information and data submitted at the tendering stage.

“The appellants followed precisely the instructions of the Contracting Authority as well as the e-tender’s terms of use, and thereby any alleged system non-performance should not and cannot be attributed to the appellants,” Vassallo Builders claimed.

The company said the government breached procurement rules by refusing to provide adequate information after selecting Bonnici Brothers.

The tender concerns converting the former Sant’ Antnin waste treatment plant in Marsaskala into a green park.

Bonnici Brothers has been in the headlines for multiple multi-million-euro projects it was awarded in different sectors since Robert Abela was elected Labour leader. The Burmarrad-based contractors were clients of Abela’s private legal office, and their managing director, Gilbert Bonnici, was in business with the prime minister and his wife.

Earlier this year, the court threw out another government decision to award another Wasterserv tender to a consortium involving Bonnici Brothers to build an incinerator at Magħtab.

The €600 million tender was given to a consortium including Bonnic Brothers, even though it has no direct experience in the sector. The award was coordinated by Richard Bilocca, the government agency’s CEO.

Following a challenge by one of the other bidders, Hitachi, the court revoked the tender – one of the biggest ever given by the government – insisting that members of the evaluation board and the PCRB had conflicts of interest that prevented them from making a fair decision.

The PCRB has not met since June following that decision, as the government has not taken any action to solve the impasse.