Waivers ‘not required’ for $115m in no-bid contracts
The Government said yesterday that multimillion-dollar, no-bid contracts for affordable housing were awarded to two foreign firms without any oversight from the Office of Project Management and Procurement.
Coastal Precast Systems, of Virginia, United States, and Preconco Ltd, of Barbados, won the lucrative contracts without having to take part in a bidding process — and a government spokeswoman told The Royal Gazette that the two publicly funded quangos leading the project did not need to get permission from the OPMP to bypass normal procurement rules.
“The Bermuda Housing Corporation and Bermuda Land Management Corporation are public authorities established under their own legislation and have the legal authority and responsibility for their procurement processes,” she said.
“As a result, the Office of Project Management and Procurement has not been requested to, nor were they required to, issue any waivers or have oversight over any contracts or related documents for the affordable housing project.”
Zane DeSilva, the Minister of Housing and Municipalities, told the House of Assembly last month, in response to an opposition question, that not issuing a request for proposals for the contract awarded to CPL would enable the work to be completed sooner.
Mr DeSilva did not address whether any of his companies, including Island Aggregate Ltd, could be hired as subcontractors on the $115 million multi-site project that will see 229 residential units built before 2028.
The minister made a promise in Parliament to provide shadow housing minister Michael Fahy with the “rigorous technical and procurement evaluation” that led to CPL getting the $64 million contract for 84 affordable housing units in Sandys and St David’s. Last night, his ministry shared details with the Gazette [see panel below].
Mr DeSilva confirmed to MPs that there was no tender process for the contract, yet said his ministry’s affordable housing advisory committee received information from “hundreds and hundreds” of people and organisations.
Preconco Ltd will produce 110 precast concrete units for Morgan’s Point, Southampton.
The Government’s statement about the BLMC and the BHC comes after a testy exchange at a June 16 public meeting between Mr DeSilva and an agent for a Canadian structural steel modular buildings company, who claimed his firm was until recently in the running to build affordable housing for the Government and could do so for less than the amounts now being quoted by the minister.
Elliott Wilson, Stack Modular’s on-island representative, told the town hall session in Southampton: “We've been around since August 2025.
“We worked non-stop with the Government for five months. We were then cut dead.”
He quoted the Government’s recently published Affordable Housing Strategy 2025-2035 consultation draft, which proposed building 974 units at an estimated cost of $418.5 million over ten years.
The minister has said precast concrete is best for affordable housing because the construction costs of between $420 and $520 per square foot are at least “40 to 50 per cent” cheaper than traditional local building at between $700 and $1,000 per square foot.
However, Mr Wilson said to Mr DeSilva: “I don’t understand your maths.”
He said 974 units equated to 506,000 square feet, based on the square footages per unit required by the Bermuda Plan 2018.
He added that the overall $418 million figure in the Government’s plan therefore worked out at $826 per square foot.
“I want people to understand that there is a great option out there at a much lower price,” Mr Wilson said.
“You’re talking about $500 per square foot. So how does that work on the maths?”
He claimed Stack Modular could produce the 974 units for $258 million.
Later, Mr DeSilva told the meeting he went to visit Stack Modular “myself in Canada; on my dime, by the way, not the taxpayers’“ to speak with the owner.
He said he almost made a decision in favour of the firm and then “counted to 10”. He described frustrations he had with pinning down which location to visit and then asked Mr Wilson: “How many houses have you built, sir?”
Mr Wilson replied: “We’ve done 19 projects in 14 different countries. How many houses have you built?”
Mr Wilson said Stack Modular had built an award-winning beachfront “beautiful hotel” that “speaks perfectly to affordable housing in Bermuda”.
Mr DeSilva said they would talk again in future, to which Mr Wilson replied: “But you haven’t spoken to me for six months.”
At that, the minister suggested the Stack Modular representative take his seat, noting: “And this gentleman wants me to do business with him, an agent.”
Mr Wilson said: “I’m trying to help Bermudians.”
“The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee was formally established in March 2026, although the group had been meeting since the summer of 2025 to explore a range of affordable housing solutions. This work included evaluating alternatives to traditional construction methods, reviewing emergency housing options, and assessing innovative building systems to address Bermuda's housing needs.
“Its mandate was to identify resilient, cost-effective housing solutions capable of meeting Bermuda's affordability, durability and delivery objectives. While the AHAC conducted the technical evaluation and made recommendations, procurement decisions and project delivery were the responsibility of the Bermuda Housing Corporation and Bermuda Land Management Corporation under their respective statutory governance frameworks.
“The committee comprised representatives from the Ministry of Housing and Municipalities, BHC and BLMC, including former permanent secretary Andrew Pettit [now succeeded by permanent secretary Jeane Nikolai], special adviser to the Minister of Housing and Municipalities and BHC board member Hugo Pereira, policy analyst Jane Brett, senior planning officer Julie Marshall, BHC board chairman Chris Famous, AHAC chairman and BHC director Hugo Pereira, BHC directors Lauren Bell and Lakila Bell, BHC general manager Paul Martin, chief financial officer Mark Melo, project manager Keino Furbert-Jacobs, and BLMC chief executive Andrew Dias.
“In response to the minister's commitment in the House of Assembly, the AHAC undertook a comprehensive evaluation of affordable housing systems and suppliers over several months. The assessment considered durability, life-cycle performance, hurricane resilience, compliance with Bermuda's building standards, construction timelines, supplier capability, opportunities for local workforce participation, logistics, cost and overall value for money.
“Nine international firms and multiple construction methodologies were evaluated, including traditional concrete block construction, volumetric modular, steel-framed modular and precast concrete systems.
“Throughout the evaluation, the committee engaged with industry stakeholders and reviewed a substantial volume of technical information, supplier materials, research and comparable project data.
“The vendors evaluated included Stack Modular, Z-Modular, Bauhu, RAD, Coastal Precast Systems, Preconco, MICEM, Forsa, Cosmos and traditional construction alternatives.
“Following the technical assessment, committee representatives visited the manufacturing facilities of some vendors to conduct direct evaluations of completed housing installations utilising the proposed systems, including an on-site inspection of capsule housing units in use to assess performance under actual occupancy and environmental conditions. This formed part of the committee's broader due diligence process prior to making its recommendations.
“Questions relating to contract awards, financing arrangements and project delivery decisions fall within the remit of the BHC and BLMC as the entities responsible for procurement and financing. Any disclosure of commercial or financing information will be made by those organisations in accordance with their governance and legal obligations.”
The Government’s draft consultation on affordable housing was released on May 5 and closed for feedback on June 12.
Mr DeSilva told MPs on May 29 about the plan for 229 units, stating the work would be directed through the “established statutory frameworks” of the BLMC and the BHC.
The minister said: “To ensure the highest standards, two premier partners have been identified, each with successful experience in Bermuda and the capability to meet our strict building codes.
“They are Coastal Precast Systems, of Virginia, USA, who will be supporting delivery at Albert Row, Victoria Place and Tommy Fox Road, and Preconco Limited, of Barbados, to support the project at Dr Cann Park II, as we are calling it at the moment.”
A public contract was signed with CPS on June 25 to build 84 precast concrete units for $64 million ― or almost $762,000 per unit.
Mr DeSilva told Parliament the next day that they would be “key in hand” units and there would be no cost overruns.
He promised to give Mr Fahy “finite details” of the evaluation that resulted in CPS being awarded the contract.
Extracts from the House of Assembly exchange on June 26 during question time about the Coastal Precast Systems contract, which was signed the day before (June 25):
Michael Fahy, shadow housing minister: ” … the minister said in his statement that a rigorous technical and procurement evaluation was undertaken by the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Please, would the minister explain to this honourable House now what was undertaken in terms of a rigorous technical and procurement evaluation …”
Zane DeSilva, the Minister of Housing: “I will be happy to give a written response because I could sit here and answer that for half an hour. The fact of the matter is that we did and we do have an Affordable [Housing Advisory] Committee that is headed by a host of individuals who are professionals in this country.
“Those were the individuals, along with industry partners, those in the construction industry, the Chamber of Commerce, the Construction Association. I could go on and on and on. I can assure you that that Affordable [Housing Advisory] Committee, that we have done yeoman work … and that's why I said rigorous, and it was.
“We have been at [it] for a long time … If he wants finite details, breakdowns, I will be happy to give it any time.”
MF: “Did that process involve any form of RFP process for the purposes of these units that are to be built by Coastal Precast Systems on the three sites that are going to involve the spending of $64 million?”
ZD: ” … we have spent months and months looking at every building system in the world. And based on the information that we received … and there were many, hundreds and hundreds, literally, from many people, many organisations … I am very confident in that committee and the work that they have done …”
MF: ” So, it is fair to say then that there was no RFP in respect of this particular project for $64 million across three sites. Is that correct?”
ZD: “That's correct and I will tell you why. Because we know how RFPs work. And I will tell you what, if we would have been through an RFP on this particular matter, we would be here next year and we wouldn't have built a home …”
CPS was previously hired by the former Wedco quango to build 100 homes at Dockyard but the project was scaled back to 20 by the One Bermuda Alliance after it won the 2012 General Election.
Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, when he was public works minister for the Progressive Labour Party administration, later claimed the OBA’s mishandling of the scheme meant the homes cost an “astounding $1.25 million per unit, coupled with the wastage of a further $2.2 million in unused materials”.
CPS’s website states that it “designed and built custom precast homes in Bermuda with insulated wall panels and a precast roof system” that were “completely hurricane-proof to Miami Dade standards”.
Preconco supplied precast concrete for residences at Caroline Bay.
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