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FAA wants bidding for 13 fire trucks cancelled
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Posted on Jan 25 2006
The Federal Aviation Administration has recommended the cancellation of the ongoing bidding process for the Airport Rescue and Firefighting Facility’s acquisition of 13 firetrucks estimated to cost several millions of dollars.
The FAA recommendation comes in the wake of an ongoing bidding protest.
CPA Airport Facilities Committee chair Prudencio T. Manglona said two bidders submitted proposals following the opening of the bidding process on Oct. 14, 2005. He did not disclose the identities of the bidders in a report submitted to the CPA board.
“However, a formal protest was submitted prior to the bid opening which is now being reviewed for validity by CPA’s legal counsel. The bid proposals [were] still being reviewed by CPA’s in-house consultants,” Manglona said.
The FAA is funding the firetruck acquisition project, which is expected to cost at least $9 million, according to Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Lee Cabrera.
The acquisition of 13 1,500-gallon ARFF vehicles will boost the ARFF Training Center on Saipan as the training hub in the Pacific region.
Manglona told the CPA board last week that the agency’s Appeals Committee has been reviewing the protest. However, CPA’s Cabrera said the FAA has recommended the cancellation of the ongoing bidding process.
Firefighters from the CNMI and other Pacific jurisdictions—including Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands—have completed training courses from the ARFF Training Center, which was completed through federal grants from the FAA.
