Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott calmed the waters of controversy in Parliament yesterday over the Berkeley school construction contract, saying a decision had been made on who had won the contract and an announcement will be made on Wednesday.

The tendering process had been "very, very fair,'' the minister said in a sober tone that was in contrast to the preceding rancour. "I wish to assure the public that any question asked will be answered when the announcement is made'', he said.

"There is no difficulty in providing full transparency on the process,'' he told the House.

Mr. Scott's speech, the last of the day, contradicted members of his own party who had insisted that no decision had been made.

In recent days the lucrative construction contract, worth an estimated $70 million, has been the subject of much speculation on the eve of an announcement of the winning bid.

Critics have claimed that Government is being pressured to award the contract to Pro-Active, a little known company, whose principals are said to have strong ruling party connections.

The critics also claimed the company bid $5 million more than the lowest bidder.

BermudaTech, owned by Wayne Furbert, is upset because their bid -- at $65 million was the lowest. They have threatened legal action.

In the House yesterday Minister Scott expressed regret that a precedent had been set for resorting to court action over government contracts.

BermudaTech workers yesterday led a march on the House of Assembly to support their company.

During the final motion to adjourn, Devonshire South MP Michael Dunkley insisted that Mr. Scott make a statement clarifying the issue.

PLP MP Ottiwell Simmons warned the UBP MP that a House debate based on speculation in the media might be prejudicial to the interests of some of the bidding companies.

"No announcement has been made and no decision has been made,'' Mr. Simmons said.

Mr. Dunkley insisted on pursuing the matter and suggested that the tendering process had been unfair. He said he was representing widely held community concerns not one particular company or group or persons.

"This Government has made a mess of what should be a simple tendering process,'' he said. And he demanded to know why it was taking so long to make a decision on the contract.

"I haven't heard anyone deny that the winning bidder is $5 million higher than the lowest,'' he continued. "You would think a prudent government would jump up and correct that information.'' Further delay, he argued, would cost the taxpayer more because the construction industry is overheated.

Mr. Dunkley claimed that the minister had told the BermudaTech marchers outside Parliament that the company would have had a better chance in securing the contract if they were unionised - an assertion immediately and vigorously denied by Mr. Scott.

But Mr. Dunkley argued that mere talk of union membership may have led them to believe that it was a condition for receiving the contract.

"You are as crazy as you look,'' said union boss Derrick Burgess when Mr.

Dunkley suggested that his dual role represented a conflict of interest.

He was cautioned by the Speaker.

Backbencher Wayne Perinchief implored the minister to "stand firm'' and not respond to Mr. Dunkley.

"We are in charge,'' he bellowed. "We intend to redistribute the wealth of this country. Does it sound strange ?'' The PLP had a mandate to create change, he said. "What is politics about if it's not empowerment?'' he asked.

"You lost and the winner takes all. We intend to give people opportunity. So what? The money is going to be spent here. The money stays here. So what?'' Telecommunications and e-commerce Minister Renee Webb continued in similar vein. She expressed surprise at the UBP's position given what she said was their history of patronage and nepotism.

The Opposition members, for their part, appeared to be equally bewildered by her 20 minute speech.

"I make no apology for the fact that if I have the opportunity to shift economic opportunity in this country, I will do it without fail,'' said Ms Webb.

She also argued that there is no obligation to award Government contracts to the lowest bidder.

It was a much calmer Minister Scott that addressed the House at the end of it all.

Mr. Scott explained that five companies had qualified for the contract. Two emerged as favourites and selecting the winning bid involved criteria other than price -- such as Bermudianisation of the workforce, and the project's ability to keep the maximum amount of dollars on the Island.

He admitted that there had been a delay in making the announcement but said it had been a result of the massive amount of technical detail that had to be verified.

He later told The Royal Gazette that there was a "myriad of details'' to be double checked before awarding the contract. "It's a mammoth project.'' And he said that the final decision was taken by the Cabinet. Any suggestions that BermudaTech had been excluded from future contracts, he added, were untrue.

The company had received several Government contracts before -- at least one of them from the PLP Government, said Mr. Scott.

Further coverage of last night's debate continues in Monday's newspaper Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott