24-day delay seen

The installation of a 1.8-megawatt generator worth $690,000 for the electric power emergency on Rota will be delayed for 24 days from the original contract.

In line with this, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. contracting specialist John Mafnas disclosed last week that they are going to modify the contract to extend the project’s completion time.

With the 24-day delay, it will take the contractor 60 days to complete the whole project.

The CUC board of directors had already re-affirmed the electric power emergency declaration on Rota and approved the selection of the International Bridge and Construction Marianas Inc. to procure, deliver, and install the generator.

Mafnas said a CUC crew said that there is a need to modify the setup as originally planned because of the concrete slab or foundation.

“Because it’s [location in] a low-lying area where it is prone to…water ponding…they need to raise it up and make sure it is safe and good,” he said.

He said the contractor needs time to cure the cement for the foundation before they could install the engine there. “That would be the best way of mitigating that hazard,” he said, adding that the contractor said they could do the modification within 24 days.

Mafnas emphasized that the modification will not result in added cost to CUC because its crew identified the issue on time.

He said the engine will be arriving on Rota by the second week of May.

Last Jan. 25, CUC’s board of directors approved the emergency and procurement method.

CUC executive director Gary P. Camacho then requested the board’s reaffirmation of the emergency declaration and the approval of the selection of IBCM to supply the generator. The CUC board subsequently approved Camacho’s request.

Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan) questioned the CUC selection committee’s decision to choose IBCM, saying it was connected to a similar deal with CUC that raised a lot of red flags about two years ago.

Camacho said there exists a threat to public health, safety, or welfare on Rota by not having a tested baseload power generation unit that is capable of sustaining peak power production of 1.8 megawatts.

Camacho said CUC’s power generation experts unanimously determined that available power sources should be considered only as temporary solutions because the availability of Rota Resort’s power supply is not guaranteed, nor they can assure its operational condition because it is a private system outside of CUC’s control.

He said CUC’s Source Selection Committee, with guidance from the Office of the Attorney General, has accepted IBCM’s quotation as the best solution to resolve this emergency.