Zacca committee weighs legal threat in LNG deal

The Christopher Zacca-chaired sub-committee established by the Government to guide the push towards the introduction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has told the Cabinet it needs an additional three weeks to decide on the way forward.

That period should expire by next week and the country should know shortly after, how the Government will move ahead in what has threatened to become a messy affair.

The planned introduction of LNG has been in limbo since the Office of the Contractor General recommended that the tender process be revisited because of what he regards as several irregularities.

Exmar consortium had emerged the preferred bidder for the construction of a floating storage and re-gasification unit for LNG in Jamaica and has threatened court action if this is changed.

But the Cabinet has indicated that it is siding with the contractor general, opening the possibility of a massive international legal battle with implications for any new preferred bidder.

"That is one of the things discussed at the Cabinet meeting (two weeks ago) and why the (Zacca) committee has asked for the three weeks to come back to us," Daryl Vaz, minister with responsibility for information, told the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday.

Vaz said the Cabinet had not yet decided if the consortium, led by the Belgian firm Exmar, would be allowed to submit a new bid if the process is restarted.

"That all depends on what legal issues are challenged in relation to the original process ... . I wouldn't expect that anybody would be precluded unless they decide to pursue other angles and options," Vaz said.

The members of the Exmar consortium have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the bidding process and have challenged several aspects of the contractor general's report.