§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the Dutch company Hollandsche Betonen Waterbouw (HBW) has been invited to tender for the £4 million project in Gibraltar involving the conversion of a naval dockyard into a ship repair yard; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RaisonWe are obliged to ensure that companies in other member states of the European Community have an opportunity to tender for public works contracts in Gibraltar above a certain value.
In the case of tenders for the main civil engineering works for the conversion of the Gibraltar naval dockyard into a commercial shiprepair yard, seven firms have pre-qualified. Six are from the United Kingdom and the seventh is Holland Beton-en-Waterbouw. Tenders are due to be received later this month.