EDEK MP Marinos Sizopoulos yesterday called a media conference to blast what he described as ‘irregularities’ in the tender documents for the construction of a new oncology ward at Limassol General Hospital.
Sizopoulos also called on authorities to account for certain provisions in the tender, which the MP maintains were included to favour certain applicants and ensure they would secure the contract.
“Any objective reader of the tender provisions can assume that the timeframes, as well as the delay in answering applicants’ enquiries either aimed at excluding some interested parties so that others would be privileged, or some of the interested parties received additional information so that they would be prepared to respond to the set timeframes and the tender conditions,” Sizopoulos said yesterday.
According to information presented by Sizopoulos, a preliminary project study prepared by the Health Ministry in 2006 provided that the new ward would have an area of 1,200m² and would cost a total of €3.93 million (£2.3 million). A second study prepared in 2008 provided that the ward should be 2,200m² and cost €9.8 million.
Sizopoulos argued that the timeframes to submit offers were too small for such a large project, which did not give all interested companies a fair chance of preparing their tenders.
He also blasted the delay in responding to the enquiries of interested parties, and the provision that a natural or legal entity would only exist in one group of companies, essentially narrowed down the choice to three applicants.
In addition, Sizopoulos claims that the background and experience requirements for the project’s architect narrowed down the choice of architectural houses to one and that the technical equipment defined are only offered by one Cypriot-based company.
The MP called on the state to make certain changes to the tender.
“To serve public interest, transparency and good governance, the Ministry of Health should
extend the deadline to submit bids until the end of September so that the maximum possible number of interested parties can submit applications.
“They should clarify that there was no intervention that served certain interests during the preparation of the terms and the tender announcement, and clarify whether information was selectively provided to certain candidates from the beginning,” Sizopoulos said.
