Council not responsible for awarding rebuild contract.

To clarify issues regarding contracts being awarded to out of town contractors, Council’s Chief Executive Judy Campbell says the rebuild of the Fitzherbert Street administration building is very much the domain of Gisborne Holdings Ltd (GHL). GHL is an independent commercial identity and operates as such. It does not operate under the same rules as GDC. “So while Council has a percentage weighting for the use of local companies when awarding tenders, we don’t set the criteria that GHL uses,” said Ms Campbell

Watts and Hughes have been appointed to do the preload work – laying the foundations and preparing the site – for the Fitzherbert Street administration building, but the finer details of the contract are still being worked through. The construction company from Mount Manganui have been identified as the preferred contractor for the multi-million dollar work.

Watts and Hughes have also been recommended for the HB Williams Memorial Library build too, with Council to make a final decision at Thursday's full council meeting.

This project is being run by GDC and we have followed our percentage weighting in favouring local companies for this process. "Local tenders were further tested against a possible Council policy change which allows for local contractors to get a higher weighting in non-price attributes. Even at a 20% weighting the local contractor wasn't as competitive. Said Ms Campbell

Ms Campbell says Watts and Hughes have however pledged to use local sub-contractors where ever possible. “Our expectation is that Watts and Hughes will be using local contractors and materials for about 85% of the build, which amounts to approximately $5.2m.

For more information on our procurement policy and guidelines, please visit our webpage www.gdc.govt.nz and search procurement in the search bar.

ends

© Scoop Media