Chief Procurement Officer Dr. Oreta Mapu Crichton has terminated the contract between Paramount Builders Ltd and the American Samoa Government for the Pago Pago International Airport Apron Rehabilitation Phase 2 construction.
Meanwhile the attorney for Paramount, Roy JD Hall Jr., has served notice of his client’s objection to the CPO’s action.
The termination according to a November 17 letter from the CPO to Paramount Builders relates to the performance bond and labor and material payment bond certificate issued by local insurance company Aeto Insurance for Paramount.
The CPO reminded that the surety was a condition of award to Paramount for the apron rehabilitation contract.
She cited the bid documents that bonds shall be issued by a solvent surety, which is certified to operate within the state/country the project work is located and which is listed in the current issue of the US Treasury Circular 570.
Dr. Crichton informed Paramount that upon review of the bonds, the surety was not listed in the current issue of the mentioned US Treasury circular.
In addition there was insufficient evidence of the financial strength of the insurance company.
Therefore the Office of Procurement deems the bonds submitted by Paramount Builders to be non responsive and deficient.
Dr, Crichton concluded, you are hereby notified that the contract between Paramount Builders Ltd. and the American Samoa Government is terminated effective immediately.
This past Monday, Paramount Builders’ attorney Roy JD Hall Jr., sent an email to Assistant Attorney General Christen Kim who was handling the airport bidding, asking for a list of insurers listed in the US treasury Circular 570 that are licensed to do business in American Samoa and have received Certificates of Authority issued by the American Samoa Insurance Commissioner;
Or alternatively for the Assistant AG to cite the statutory authorities that exempt or allows a waiver of said insurers from complying with the Foreign Corporation Act, the Business License Act and the Insurance Act, application in American Samoa.
Hall had first requested this information last month, but he said the Assistant AG has failed to provide this information or answers to his inquiries.
Paramount’s attorney ended his email with a request to the CPO rec to reconsider her decision denying the contract award to Paramount Builders and to accept his email as a formal written objection to the termination of the contract award for the Pago Pago International Apron Rehabilitation Phase 2 Construction.
