GOVERNMENT MP Zane DeSilva can expect a bumper $9-million payday for helping renovate the Port Royal public golf course.

The Island Construction boss, who also sits on a Board of Trustees which oversees the management of the island's three public courses, was the only company to submit a bid to Government to carry out excavation work, which accounts for the bulk of the $13.6-million pricetag for the project.

The revelation supports earlier claims from rival construction firms that the job was never put out to tender ¿ and contradicts claims by the Board of Trustees that Mr. DeSilva won the contract after "providing a competitive price".

Details of the project were revealed by Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown in written answers to questions submitted by the Opposition United Bermuda Party.

Dr. Brown confirmed that the estimated cost for the project currently stands at $13.6 million, with work expected to be completed by the end of the year.

According to the Premier's written answers, nine US firms and one other Bermudian contractor ¿ Richold Construction ¿ won contracts totalling $4.5 million for various sub projects including the installation of a reverse osmosis plant, irrigation material and the laying of concrete paths.

The list is broken down to sub- projects and provides the names of all companies who submitted bids, detailed cost breakdowns of each project, and why each company was selected.

As many as five companies competed for each sub project on the list ¿ with the exception of 'Excavation Works', which lists Island Construction as the sole bidder. And unlike all other projects, no details of pricing are provided other than 'hourly rates'. In its 'Rational for Selection', the Board of Trustees explains that Island Construction was selected because it was the only firm that submitted a bid for the excavation work.

As well as being selected for excavation work, Island Construction also won a $1.6-million bid to provide sand and gravel for the revamp. According to the Premier's written answers, one other local company submitted a bid for that job but "dropped out when other courses made arrangements to ship independently, so became uneconomical".

News that Mr. Desilva was involved in the project was first revealed by the Mid-Ocean News in February, and sparked outrage from rival firms who said they were never invited to submit a bid.

"Nobody in the business knows of this job going out to tender," Sousa's Landscape Management owner Jeff Sousa said at the time.

"Nobody is saying that the course didn't need a facelift but it seems this contract was awarded in secrecy. It is all about an even playing field. This $13.6 million is being paid by the people of Bermuda and we need to watch how the public purse is being spent.

"But this job was never advertised and certainly nothing was ever received by us. The whole bidding process stinks. People are talking about this but most are scared to talk in public. Well I'm not scared because we are supposed to be living in a democracy."

Another construction chief, who asked not to be named, added: "There's nothing we can do about it ¿ they have said who they are going to give the contracts to and that's exactly what they're doing."

The Board of Trustees, which comes under the authority of Dr. Brown's Tourism Ministry, later refuted those allegations.

Chairman Wendall Brown said: "Island Construction was given the contract because of their experience, having recently done the excavating at Tucker Point and Mid Ocean and providing a competitive price. At no point was Mr. Zane DeSilva involved with the bidding process either as a Trustee or as a representative of Island Construction."

Yesterday, Mr. Brown did not return calls calls from this newspaper asking to explain how Island Construction could have submitted a competitively priced bid when there was no competition.

But Mr. Sousa said he was angered by the details, which he claimed showed the tendering process was not adhered to.

"I want someone to show me how and when this contract was put out to tender ¿ because as far as I can see, it wasn't," he said.

"And how can you say the Island Construction offer was priced competitively when there are no other prices to compare it too?

"As the president and founder of the largest landscaping firm in Bermuda's history, it amazes me that we were not approached to submit a bid.

"Had we known about this project ¿ taking place where I first worked as an apprentice in the 1970s ¿ then certainly Sousa's Landscape Management would have submitted a bid. We didn't because the whole thing was done in secret. It was never advertised as these projects usually are and we were never approached."

Mr. Sousa said his firm was not desperate for contracts and had plenty of work in the pipeline.

"Nevertheless, I am a proud Bermudian who loves his country and I believe everyone should at least be given the opportunity to do work that will benefit their fellow Bermudians," he said.

"We have 50 people working for this company and are very busy, working for some of the most prestigious private sector companies on the island.

"But I also know that there are other firms that are crying out for work and are not getting it. Island Construction is a great excavating company but it's not an irrigation specialist and it's not as if they have any experience of working on golf courses. In fact, when the company did some irrigation work several years ago the pipes started bursting ¿ because they didn't have the experience. So why did they get the contract? These are questions that need to be asked, but I'm afraid that in today's Bermuda, people are too frightened to stand up."

UBP leader and Shadow Tourism Minister Kim Swan also said the answers clearly supported the claim that no other companies were invited to submit bids for the excavation work.

Mr. Swan also pointed out that the initial plan for a course upgrade had morphed into a major redevelopment ¿ with Mr. DeSilva reaping most of the financial reward.

And he questioned whether Government's final cost estimate of $13.6 was realistic. The year-long project is still six months away from being completed yet, according to Dr. Brown, $9 million or two-thirds of the project budget has already been paid out.

"The Government is spending money like drunken sailors and there's absolutely no transparency," Mr. Swan said.

"People bought into the idea that the course needed a facelift but this has turned into a major redevelopment ¿ and only about one third of it went out to tender. You can't say one thing and then try and hoodwink the people but unfortunately this Government make things up as they go along.

"This is the type of business practice that people are rightly concerned about and is perhaps another issue that the Auditor General should look into.

"The Board of Trustees claim that they hired a project manager to oversee the project but clearly Zane DeSilva is the project manager ¿ he is the deputy chairman of the Board and is also chairman of the links committee ¿ and he just so happens to end up winning the contract for the bulk of the work on this project.

"The Premier's written answers also raise the question of whether there is going to be any serious overruns on this project. We are only halfway through the timeline and yet already, $9 million of the $13.6 million budgeted has been spent. In an economic climate in which people are tightening their belts and trying to save money, Government is demonstrating financial indiscipline and there's absolutely no transparency."