COR3 launches tool that will group reconstruction project bids
Looking to give visibility and transparency to the reconstruction works, the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3) launched an effort that will group in a single registry, the list of construction bids listed by government agencies, municipalities, and nonprofits so that contractors can identify opportunities to compete in these processes.
COR3 Executive Director Manuel Laboy said this project arose after conversations with the General Contractors Association, Puerto Rico Chapter, and other construction industry groups, due to the need to identify opportunities for requesting proposals and bidding data.
“This is a measure that seeks to continue advancing the more than 7,500 reconstruction projects developed by the sub-recipients in the 78 towns and whose investment is estimated at $20.5 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds,” Laboy said.
Eduardo Pardo, president of the General Contractors, said, “This initiative makes it easier for construction companies to access information on ongoing bids and will help agencies by giving more visibility to the process.”
The collaboration also includes the General Services Administration (ASG, in Spanish) and allows that agency’s bidding processes to be published in a single list through the COR3 website. The Mayors Association and Federation have also been informed of the initiative, “so that their members participate in the effort,” Laboy said.
As part of its participation, the ASG “created a new tool called Joint E-Procurement Digital Intelligence (JEDI) that will allow us to maintain constant monitoring through the phases that each of the recovery bids processed by the ASG go through,” said Karla Mercado, ASG administrator.
“It’s the closest thing to working in real time, which contributes to transparency and efficiency. This initiative, the result of teamwork, will yield results for the benefit of the people of Puerto Rico,” she said.
Meanwhile, Laboy said that in the coming weeks, COR3 will publish on its website a new tool to communicate the progress of permanent works projects on highways and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings, and public utilities, among others.
The first phase is available to subrecipients in the Disaster Recovery Solution and shows whether the project is in the design, auction, permitting, construction, or completed stage.
