Country to Build New Finance Headquaters

A new ultramodern building, which will house Burundi's ministry of finance, is set to grace Bujumbura's skyline. The ministry of finance currently shares accommodation with other ministries. The new building, whose actual construction costs will be determined when the winning bidder is announced, will be located in Ruhero, Bujumbura's central business district. Burundi, a new member of the now expanded East African Community (EAC) is recovering from years of civil strife. The ministry of finance project is the brainchild of Projet d'Appui a la Gestion Economique (PAGE)/Economic Management Support Project (ENSP). PAGE enhances transparency and good governance in the management of public funds. PAGE also helps in capacity building for the judiciary. PAGE receives $26 million per year from the World Bank. Their main objective is to assist in capacity building for public finance management and to promote sustainable development. While showing bidders the architectural drawing of the building in Bujumbura last week, Mr. Seleus Nezerwe, the PAGE Coordinator, said it is through open and transparent bidding that development projects would be successfully done. "This is a good opportunity for competition," Said Mr. Nezerwe, Following the strict guidelines of the World Bank, PAGE called for two separate bidding processes. The first one was the bid for the feasibility, architectural drawings and plans and evaluation and monitoring of the entire project. This bid was worth Euros 600,000 and was won by Groupe STUDI International, a conglomerate of 8 companies from Tunisia, after some stiff competition from four other short listed competitors. Mr. Abdelaziz Toumi, a director with STUDI made a presentation of the kind of building that will be constructed and the detailed plans. The details were thorough, to the last details of the type of furniture, communications, drainage, building materials, parking space for vehicles, fire escapes, air-conditioning, back-up electricity, etc. STUDI is involved in construction projects in 28 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. The second and last bidding process was to cover the actual construction of the building. Many companies including the ones operating in the region were invited to show interest in doing the job. Experts visited Uganda and Rwanda to sound out the main construction companies to participate in the bidding. The final bids for the contractor will be opened on December 11th 2007 and the winning bidder will be given 18 months to complete the work, under supervision of the Groupe STUDI.