million Berkeley Institute contract to the favourite bidder Pro-Active Management Systems Ltd.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott was accompanied by Premier Jennifer Smith when he explained why Cabinet had opted for the bidder with the least known reputation.

He said despite Pro-Active only being registered for a year, the major players each had many years experience in the field of construction.

And he said despite the company putting in a bid $5 million more than the lowest bidder Bermuda-Tech, it had come close to Government's costing of the massive project, which was $68 million.

Pro-Active bid $70 million, while BermudaTech bid $65 million.

Mr. Scott explained that because a company puts in a low bid, that does not mean that it is always a realistic bid, and he said sometimes the final costing may increase.

But he said Pro-Active had come right on target.

However, he refused to say whether BermudaTech had ever gone over budget before on Government contracts.

And despite promising to be transparent, Mr. Scott refused to reveal which company his technical officers had recommended for the job.

On both occasions that those questions were asked, the Premier suggested they were not real questions and should not have been asked.

On one occasion she said: "Strange question!'' Controversy has surrounded the project to build the new secondary school after it was claimed there was a rift in Cabinet over who should win the contract.

It was alleged that some Cabinet members felt pressured into giving the contract to Pro-Active because some of its principals were PLP supporters.

Berkeley contract awarded As a result, BermudaTech has voiced concern over the handling of the bids and has threatened to seek legal advice.

But Mr. Scott denied there was any rift in Cabinet.

He said yesterday: "The successful bid best reflects all the criteria set out both in the tendering document and those which are sought by the Government.

"The firm is well positioned to maximise the utilisation of Bermudians on site throughout the senior management, sub contractor, and sub sub contractor organisational structure.

"Further, the firm committed to the training of Bermudians and did so within a corporate structure that should see a considerable portion of the capital used to build the new school remaining Bermuda.

"I can state that the most responsive bid was selected. I wish to state that the PLP Government commits to continue to put Bermuda and Bermudians first as we embrace the reality of the New Bermuda.'' Mr. Scott denied this was a case of "jobs for the boys'', and said he was not close enough to the people at Pro-Active to know who they supported.

He said he was aware that PLP stalwart Winters Burgess was a major player, but said the company could equally have UBP or NLP supporters.

Other key players in the firm are president Arthur Ebbin Jnr, Cavon Steede, Gavin Simmons, and Dalton Burgess.

In Pro-Active's resume handed to Works and Engineering, it outlined one of its project managers as Julian Parker, who is from the US.

But last night, Mr. Scott said he was being brought in by Pro-Active as a consultant and used on a retainer basis, along with Florida-based HR Lubben Group.

And the minister said there had been no racial grounds whatsoever for awarding the contract to Pro-Active.

But he said Government wanted to share the wealth around.

Mr. Scott revealed yesterday that a brand new insurance company has put up the bond for Pro-Active, and that it was formed for that very purpose.

However, he refused to name the company, saying that it should come from Pro-Active. But he did say both he and Attorney General Dame Lois Browne-Evans had received written, legal documents proving the security was bonafide, and everything had been to standard. He also said the insurance company was now trying to "form themselves corporatively.'' Last night, The Royal Gazette was still waiting to hear which local companies would be used as sub-contractors and sub sub-contractors under Pro-Active.

Mr. Scott said a list had been provided to his department by Pro-Active, and 50 percent of them had been confirmed -- all of them local.

However, he said it was normal for the general contractor to "shop around'' to ensure they got the best deal, so some are yet to be decided.

But Mr. Scott said he was sure Pro-Active would utilise as many local firms as possible, where as the other companies may have been more inclined to go overseas.

Last night nobody from Pro-Active or BermudaTech was available for comment.

But President of BCM McAlpine Alan Burland, which submitted a bid, sent his congratulations to Pro-Active.

The chairman of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce's construction division, said: "We look forward to learning how they are approaching the project and we trust there will be an extremely high level of Bermudian involvement in the project.

"It would be nice to know who the major sub contractors are that they are planning to use.''