The Bega Valley Shire is a Local Government Area (LGA) on the southern coast of New South Wales. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the Municipality of Bega, Imlay Shire and Mumbulla Shire.
The Bega Valley Shire Council (Council) provides local government services, including waste management and recycling, drinking water supply and wastewater treatment, to over 35,000 people and businesses in the Bega Valley Shire.
The Bega Valley Sewerage Infrastructure Scheme was a two stage major works program undertaken by Council to upgrade existing wastewater treatment plants at various Bega Valley locations.
We provided advice to Council regarding the tender processes employed to ultimately select a suitable contractor for this program.
Stage 1 included Expressions of Interest (EOI) process and then a Select Tenders process for identification of an overall Project Manager. Subsequently an EOI for the Infrastructure Delivery and Operation contract was conducted.
During finalisation of this stage the Council was placed under administration and decisions were deferred and left to the incoming Council.
After the election of the new Council the Infrastructure delivery project was substantially modified which resulted in a second call for EOI.
Stage 2 was a selection process for a finance & Build, Own, Operate & maintain, and Transfer (BOOT) contract, with similar scope to Stage 1, but with the addition of a series of interactive workshops with select tenderers.
During this stage, one of the tenderers withdrew and advice was provided on the probity of inviting another tenderer from the short-list (from the EOI) as a replacement. Also, one of the 2 remaining tenderers included a system, supported by a specialist consultant to Council (and specialist adviser to the Tender Assessment Panel). Probity advice was provided to Council concerning the consultant’s potential conflict of interest.
We reviewed all relevant process documentation including tender documents, evaluation reports, communications and recommendations for all stages. We checked that every participant in evaluation or assessment processes signed a Confidentiality Agreement and Conflict of Interest Declaration.
We attended and monitored all supplier briefings, site, meetings, interactive workshops, tender evaluation meetings, and supplier interviews.
Probity Reports were prepared at key milestones for all stages of the procurement processes.
The total project value was estimated to be about $110 million, and the engagement extended from May 2000 to June 2003.
