Second firm loses towers project
By Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
BES Engineering Corp (中華工程) is no longer eligible to sign a contract to complete the Taipei Twin Towers project (雙子星), the Taipei City Government said yesterday.
The project is to construct two skyscrapers to serve as the linchpin connecting the future Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT line with Taipei Main Station, the hub of most of the city’s railway and MRT lines.
BES was originally the runner-up among firms bidding for the construction project, but was awarded the tender last year after the previous winner, Taipei Gateway International Development Co, withdrew due to corruption scandals.
Last month, the city government imposed a strict series of conditions for signing a contract, requiring the firm to pay upfront for previous construction work on the site and also provide written guarantees from banks proving the firm possessed adequate liquidity to complete the project.
Taipei City Government spokesman Chang Chi-chiang (張其強) said that because the firm had failed to provide the deposit and written guarantees required by the midnight Monday deadline, it had officially lost its eligibility to sign a contract for the project.
The city’s announcement comes on the heels of the Taipei High Administrative Court’s rejection of BES’ appeal for an injunction against the government.
The court’s decision affirmed the government’s position, stating that the government had good reasons for imposing the strict conditions for signing the contract.
The court said that even if BES was unable to meet the government’s conditions, there was no reason to believe other firms would be unable to do so.
So long as the government imposed similar conditions on future bidders, there were no grounds for judicial intervention in the negotiation process, the court said.
BES Engineering representatives could not be reached for comment.
“If a firm signs a contract for the Taipei Twin Towers project, it has to be able to guarantee the project will be completed and that project quality will be maintained,” Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said, adding that the city would continue to require such guarantees from any future contractors.
He declined to say whether the city would award the tender to the bidder next in line or start a new round of bidding, saying only that the city would make a decision as soon as possible.
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