PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – The President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn, says the Washington-based financial institution will respect the Suriname government’s final decision regarding the use of a multi-million dollar contract for the Van ‘t Hogerhuysstraat infrastructure project.
Earlier this month, Judge Deborah Haakmat-Sniphout ruled that the project award to Kuldipsing Infra NV must be revoked and the project must be retendered. In a letter to the Public Works and Spatial Planning Minister, Stephen Tsang, the IDB representative in Suriname, Adriana La Valley, said that deviating from the already awarded project could result in a claim for damages.
According to the IDB, the US$23 million in financing for the project, as well as the award to Kuldipsing, is stipulated in the loan agreement between Suriname and the Washington-based financial institution, subject to strict conditions. Any amendment would only be possible with the IDB’s written approval. A unilateral amendment, such as implementing the court ruling, would violate the policy of this international financing institution.
But speaking at a news conference, Goldfajn, flanked by newly elected President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, said. At the same time, he would respect the government’s final decision on the project, the IDB must comply with its internal laws and regulations.
“…we are law-abiding people, and we will support Suriname’s decision,” Goldfajn said, describing the deliberations with President Geerlings-Simons as “very productive”.
In April this year, at the request of Baitali NV, the court halted the project to conduct a judicial investigation into the legality of the tender process and the final award to Kuldipsing Infra NV. Baitali NV, which had submitted the lowest bid, was excluded, and in its ruling, the court said that Baitali had been wrongly rejected.
It ruled that the state revoke the award to Kuldipsing and grant Baitali the opportunity to compete in a new tender round.
However, the Ministry of Public Works appealed the verdict even before President Jennifer Simons took office last month. Following the change in government, the appeal was withdrawn.
Media reports on Monday said that the government risks a claim of US$10 million if it delays implementation or makes substantial changes to the infrastructure project on Van ‘t Hogerhuysstraat, which has been awarded to Kuldipsingh Infra NV.
“There is no agreement. The IDB says the government must do what it knows it must do and that it’s fine otherwise. There was no negotiation on that,” President Geerlings-Simons told the news conference.
During the meeting with the IDB, financing options for various projects that the government plans to implement shortly were also discussed.
According to President Geerlings-Simons, US$500 million is available from a previous loan agreement with the bank, US$13 million is available as a grant, to be used for matters such as institutional strengthening and other technical support, and if needed, the IDB is prepared to provide an additional US$500 million in the form of a soft loan.
Geerlings-Simons wants to use the available funding primarily for economic diversification, focusing on tourism and the agricultural sector.
“These are areas the IDB is also interested in,” she said, adding that she also wants to invest some of the funds in the government’s social projects.
“We discussed our vocational education and how it needs to be accelerated in various areas. We also discussed the institute we want to establish to support small and medium-sized enterprises,” she said, adding that the discussions also focused on combating corruption and strengthening institutions.
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