The construction of the Tinian International Airport departure terminal will finally begin in February, over a year after the Commonwealth Ports Authority awarded the contract to the second lowest bidder.<\/p>\n
CPA executive director Carlos Salas said yesterday that the groundbreaking ceremony for the $2-million terminal project has been scheduled for Feb. 1, 2004. The facility, which will include a new jetway, is expected to be completed within nine months, he said.<\/p>\n
In November 2003, CPA awarded the contract to AIC Marianas, which entered a bid of $2.65 million. AIC\u2019s proposal was about $70,000 higher than the $2.58-million bid entered by ASC Construction, which subsequently protested CPA\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
The ports authority explained that it rejected ASC\u2019s proposal because the bidder entered Equitable Insurance Co., which is not U.S. Treasury-listed, as its bonding company. CPA said the exemption for that requirement was not available upon the advise of the Attorney General’s Office.<\/p>\n
ASC said, however, that CPA could have given the construction company the opportunity to select a different bonding company, instead of rejecting its proposal altogether.<\/p>\n
In May 2004, ASC brought the matter to court, claiming that CPA’s actions were \u201carbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salas said yesterday that ASC has failed to follow through on its protest. CPA has not heard from the contractor for quite some time, he added.<\/p>\n
The Tinian terminal building is one of the improvements being done to the Tinian International Airport in an effort to beef up the island’s tourism and casino industry.<\/p>\n
Other improvements being undertaken or planned for the airport include the construction of a permanent jet fueling facility, the upgrading of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s power feed to the airport, new taxiways, an apron expansion, and new lighting systems.<\/p>\n
In August 2003, CPA opened a new 8,600-feet-long runway at the Tinian airport. The $23-million runway, which is capable of handling all sizes of modern commercial jet aircraft, was built using funds from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Tinian Legislative Delegation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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