Contractors express discontent about Contract Award System

Dana Malcom

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, January 20, 2024 – Despite government efforts to bridge the gap between local contractors and tenders, contractors in the Turks and Caicos Islands say they are still frustrated with the system.

“Some of these construction projects have already started so $800 million is not available and the person who will get these contracts will not give Turks Islanders the jobs let’s be – real,” one resident complained.

The conversation was sparked again when Jamell Robinson, Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development, (PPID) called on the contractors to attend meetings from January 3-11 in all five island communities to help them properly create and submit tender applications.

Enduring complaints from some residents who reached out to the news team included concerns that even with properly submitted tenders, locals were overlooked. Additionally, other residents expressed concern that for the larger contracts, won by overseas contractors, enough Turks and Caicos Islanders were not being considered for secondary jobs.

In January 2022, a Contractors Association had been announced as under construction by some locals, to help organize and protect local builders. At that time the government had been in the consultation phase for a new Construction Contractors’ Bill.

Over the past year, several government-contractor sessions have been held including the annual Contractors Symposium where Robinson updated on the bill which is now in the draft stage.

Even with the shared concerns, dialogue between the government and contractors is progressing.  When we spoke to the Minister of PPID about the meeting, he said

“The meeting was excellent and the presentations were well received by the contractors. There were a lot of questions about the tender process that were answered. I’m happy with the outcome.”

It’s not just government tenders that contractors are hoping to get in on. They also want to be considered for major private constructions.  This has been a long-standing complaint of local contractors who feel they are often left out of the multi-million dollar construction industry in the Turks and Caicos Islands. New construction is the backbone of real estate in the country according to realtors who say resale is low in the TCI.