CDA official lobbies for Enron

A board member of the Commonwealth Development Authority has urged its chairman, John S. Tenorio, to press the awarding of the much delayed Saipan power project to top bidder Enron being a U.S. corporation.

In a memorandum to the CDA chief, Joaquin Q. Atalig underscored the need to end the controversy surrounding the procurement of the new 80-megawatt plant by taking decisive action now.

“I urge you to use your considerable influence to break the current deadlock by forcing progress on this and other fronts,” he told Mr. Tenorio.

“We should start the new millennium with the award of a contract to the most responsive and responsible bidder, which is the highest ranked company, with all speed,” said Mr. Atalig.

Enron edged out Tomen Consortium, HEI/SPP and Marubeni-Sithe in the second round of independent evaluation conducted by Burns & McDonnell, a private engineering firm hired by the government-owned utility corporation amid mounting protests from bidders.

CUC is expected to decide today on the fate of the project during the scheduled board meeting, in which a study conducted by the Kansas City-based company on the power load assessment on the island is also set to be made public.

Mr. Tenorio earlier has maintained that the utility corporation must weigh whether it has the financial capability to undertake a project with such magnitude and recommended downsizing of the plant in light of the continuous economic difficulties confronting the CNMI.

Because CDA has a stake on CUC which owes the chief government lending agency more than $100 million, the utility corporation needs to get its approval on the power project.

Mr. Atalig stressed the upswing in the regional economies, particularly in Asia, means that the island must be prepared to deal with the anticipated recovery of the local economy, such as an efficient power supply for residents and businesses.

He said Enron, having topped the independent evaluation, should be awarded the $120 million contract as the Commonwealth would “benefit immensely from the presence of an American multinational.”

Forging an agreement with the U.S. corporation, according to Mr. Atalig, will improve the political relationship between the CNMI and Washington, while ensuring an “American Way” of operations here.

“[M]uch more is to be gained by getting this power project underway and by getting the utility on sound footing,” he said, adding that due to the huge debt, there is no way the utility corporation can finance such a project unless it moves ahead with the initial plan.

“This project will create badly needed jobs for good wages because this is the American way,” Mr. Atalig explained. “With increased revenues coming from the added capacity, there is no telling what other projects CUC and CDA can provide to the community.”

To be set up through the build-operate-transfer scheme, the 80-MW plant was originally designed to address increasing power demand on Saipan by this year, but the protests lodged by Enron and other bidders against the selection of Marubeni-Sithe in June 1998 had delayed its construction.