West End Development Company (WEDCO) could decide as early as today which construction company will take over the lease for the Dockyard silos.

But according to Myron Piper, of Island Cement Ltd., new competitors didn't stand much of a chance.

Mr. Piper said his company was given four weeks to meet all the conditions of the WEDCO RFP (request for proposal).

But conditions including setting up a company and getting a letter from the Bermuda Monetary Authority to show that the company was in good standing were "impossible" in that time frame.

He said contractors had to show they had close to $1.5 million to operate and purchase the silo. They also had to have a supplier agreement in place to get the cement shipped to Bermuda two weeks after the lease was awarded.

He believes this process "eliminates everyone by default. It would be more honest to hand it over rather than make a mockery of the process".

Mr. Piper admitted he put in a request to get the bidding deadline extended, but was told by a secretary rather than the executive board it had been denied.

He said: "I am disappointed but not surprised by WEDCO's decision to deny ICL the opportunity to bid.

"In my opinion, the WEDCO RFP is a complete farce making a mockery of black empowerment and the democratic process.

"It appears to have been written with a preselected competitor in mind based on the submission questions."

Dennis Correia, with construction company Maxcem, the current operator of the silos and Cliff Lambert, of Trojan Cement, are believed to be in the running.

And Mr. Piper said he would be "surprised" if any other bidders could have met the deadlines.

According to businessman Mr. Lambert his company submitted a "competitive proposal" to WEDCO to operate the cement silos.

In a press release, he said that Trojan Cement built a strategic alliance with US based company Titan Cement, who operate cement plants and terminals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Mr. Lambert said if they attained the bid: "Trojan Cement would remain 100 percent Bermudian owned with 30 percent or more of the shares being offered to the Bermuda public".

He would not comment on the bidding process but said yesterday: "The Ministers told me (the silos) were to be put out to bid and I was able to get my bid in on time".

But according to Mr. Piper, Bermudians should be "up in arms" that WEDCO was not required to hand over 20 percent shares to the public.

"Why has this important condition been left out of this RFP? This was a mandatory condition for Jim Butterfield's group but appears to be conspicuously absent for the likely silo lease winners Dennis Correia's Group".

Mr. Piper continued: "Bermudians need to demand that this Government deliver on its promises of black empowerment by ensuring black-owned businesses get a fair opportunity to compete on Government contracts and tenders."

He questioned how WEDCO was going to rate the proposals and whether the applicants were going to be interviewed by the board.

The Royal Gazette called and e-mailed WEDCO Chairman Walter Lister for comment yesterday, but got no response. Dennis Correia was also e-mailed, but we understand he was off Island and unable to respond.