Concerns have been raised over the contract awarded by Government for a much-delayed building project.Minister of Public Works Michael Weeks pledged yesterday that work to fix the retaining wall at Devon Spring Road, Devonshire, will begin in January (see story, Page 2).Residents have been calling for the work, which will allow the road to reopen at the South Road junction, to be done for more than nine years.However, the announcement that it will finally go ahead was dogged by controversy.Local landscaping gardening firm Brown and Company has been awarded the contract but Peter Araujo, of Araujo Construction, said his bid was $50,000 lower.And he claimed Brown and Company did not have the equipment to complete the work without calling in a subcontractor.Mr Araujo told The Royal Gazette his bid, through an open tendering process, was $145,000 compared to the $196,000 price named by Brown and Company.“I was the second-lowest bidder. There was a lower bidder than me but everyone seemed to figure that that was too low, and mine was more accurate,” he said.Mr Araujo said Government made the unusual move, after the bids were in, of going back to his company to inquire about its rates. He believed this meant his bid had been successful.He was also told that the matter of awarding the contract had to go to Cabinet.“Last week I received a letter in the mail that we were not the most successful bidder. I thought, ‘fine, I guess they decided to give it to the lower bidder’,” he explained.However, he then discovered that the contract had been given to Brown and Company, which is run by Martin Brown.“At the end of the day that company does not have the machinery I have to do this project. They will have to hire someone to do it,” he said.Mr Araujo, who was project manager when Government’s Sylvia Richardson Care Facility was built in St George’s, added: “This hurts me and it’s wasted my time and money. What makes him (Mr Brown) more qualified than me? And if that’s the case why would you come back to ask me for my rates? That in itself is not being fair.”Quizzed by The Royal Gazette over the concerns, Mr Weeks said the bidding process was “transparent” and that “Brown and Company met the criteria”.Asked why the contract was awarded to that company over Araujo Construction, he said: “If they met the criteria, Brown and Company is the best company for the job.”He was unable to supply an answer as to whether the work would need to be subcontracted out.Invited to comment on Mr Araujo’s points, Mr Brown said: “He’s entitled to his concerns. It was an open bidding process. The Works and Engineering technical officers made the decision and I’m not privy to their decision making process. I have to say I was a little surprised to have been awarded the contact knowing that we weren’t the lowest bidder.”He said the excavation of the site would have to be sub contracted out “but we are well equipped and qualified to carry out the work”.Mr Brown added that he is still waiting for the work order to be issued and has not got as far as picking a sub contractor yet.Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards questioned why the decision about awarding the contract was made by Cabinet rather than the procurement office set up by the Premier to oversee capital projects.“There are significant questions about the organisation that was given the contract,” he said yesterday.“They were more expensive, and they appear to be less qualified. It would be useful for Government to address these matters.”In response to follow-up questions, a Ministry of Public Works spokesman said: “The contracts are awarded based on the procurement matrix. This is 50 percent quality, 30 percent costs and 20 percent company profile. Price is only one of the areas covered.”He added: “The Office of Project Management and Procurement review the tenders along with the Ministry of Public Works and make the recommendation using the matrix. This recommendation is then sent to the Cabinet for final decision.”He added: “In this regard, the selected contractor satisfied the respective requirements.”