22 firms in race for two Bahrain cleaning deals
Manama, April 1, 2014
Twenty-two cleaning companies are competing for two sanitation contracts up for grabs in Bahrain.
The winning firms will be responsible for rubbish collection, street sweeping and other sanitation work for the entire country, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
Two firms currently responsible for carrying out such services are Sphinx Services and Gulf City Cleaning Company (GCCC), but their contracts expire in November.
Sphinx has the cleaning contract for the Northern, Central and Southern Governorates, while GCCC takes care of Manama and Muharraq.
It is understood both Sphinx and GCCC are among the companies bidding for the new contracts.
The tenders are currently being studied by British consultancy firm Mott McDonald, which will assess the applications and draw up a shortlist.
National Cleanliness Committee chairman and Northern Municipality director-general Yousif Al Ghatam said suggestions that each governorate should have its own cleaning company had been rejected.
"It will cost the government more to have five companies and would be very difficult for municipal officials to follow and monitor, so for that we are going ahead with the normal format of only having two," he said.
"The bidding companies have been asked to come up with ideas on how to recycle waste for their applications to be accepted, as the government is shifting away from dumping in the Hafeera landfill site.
"There are companies that recycle in Bahrain, but we need more to match our future vision."
He said cleaning services cost the Municipalities and Urban Planning Affairs Ministry BD20 million ($52.4 million) a year, which is a third of its budget.
"We have hired a specialised British company to assess offers presented by 22 companies and we are looking to sustain that amount or reduce it under new plans that would be presented," said Al Ghatam.
"The existing two contracts could be renewed for a few months until new replacements are found, or if the two companies will continue on new permanent contracts.
"Those shortlisted will be asked to enter with real offers before the end of the year as we fast-track the selection process."
The Southern Municipal Council voted in June last year against renewing the contract of Sphinx, while the Manama Municipal Council has deducted payments to GCCC for alleged shortcomings. - TradeArabia News Service
