A construction staging area and dry dock on St Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. (Image: Adobe Stock)

that the PFA awarded the contract to CH2M 鈥� a US-based engineering consulting, design and construction firm 鈥� in August as part of a programme worth about US$15 billion to rebuild and improve infrastructure after two major hurricanes hit the islands in 2017: Irma and Maria.

The US Virgin Islands are unincorporated US territories of the Virgin Islands archipelago in the Caribbean Sea of North America.

Hill鈥檚 complaint called the award to CH2M 鈥渁rbitrary and capricious鈥� and noted that Hill鈥檚 bid was $107 million less than CH2M鈥檚 for the same scope of work. Hill also believed 鈥� citing VI鈥檚 request for proposals 鈥� that the government failed to honour its commitment to select two firms for the work, instead of just one.

Added to the complaint, Hill said awarding CH2M the contract represented a conflict of interest, as three of five members of the government鈥檚 contract selection committee were also members of the VI Public Works Department, which employs two people who work for CH2M鈥檚 parent company, US-based Jacobs Solutions.

The complaint was moved to a US District Court, and the VI government has asked it to be dismissed. According to the VI government, Hill did not follow the bid protest process outlined in the request, alleging the company had no basis to sue. The government also alleged that Hill鈥檚 bid only met about 20% of the government鈥檚 evaluation criteria.

The government called Hill a 鈥渄isappointed Respondent鈥� and said the company鈥檚 allegations of a conflict of interest were without factual support.

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